Rereading this one because I want to reread Bitterblue. Still trying to figure out what it is about this book that doesn't quite work for me. Maybe it's the vaguely-medieval pseudo-European worldbuilding, which is literally my least favorite kind of historical fantasy setting (just because it's done to death. So. Boring.). Maybe it's that I never really believe that Katsa has been torturing and killing people since she was a child and that's kind of...her whole story.

The book is well written, and I understand why it made a stir when it was published, but I think that both of the next two books in the series are much better.

I really like Po, though, even if I find his name distracting. Top quality YA fantasy romantic lead.