What a satisfying second-world adult fantasy novel! I haven't experienced one of those in a long time. The worldbuilding is wonderful--lush and layered--the characters are well-drawn and interesting, the plot is perfectly serviceable fantasy plot that is elevated by how good the setting/character stuff is. The end was a bit rushed (which is an extremely common problem with fantasy novels--most writers either rush it or draw it out too much), but that's really my only complaint. Everything else was so enjoyable.

It is, however, lacking that ~something~ that boosts a book up to the 5-star level, at least for me, but I am so excited to keep following Larkwood's career, and I know that someday she's going to write one of my favorite books.