This is a wonderful Queernorm fantasy re-imagining of French Algeria with a strong anti-colonial underpinning that looks at the profound structural ways imperialism embeds itself in a society. Touraine is a not-Algerian conscripted into the not-French army as a child. She’s indoctrinated and trained in not-France all her life and only now returns to her homeland alongside the not-French Queen-to-be, Luca. Promises of freedom and fairness and held waiting behind processes and hope Then love between Touraine and Luca complicates an already messy relationship between Touraine’s loyalty to her fellow conscripts, her people and their rebellion, and not-French society-at-large that promises fairness and civilization but all too often delivers barbaric cruelty.