Thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think it’s cool to have a protagonist who uses any pronouns and a nonbinary character. I also really appreciate the dynamic between the protagonist and their family. I enjoy that this book can get humorous as well.
The writing style itself is more casual than the books I typically read and the plot is paced rather quickly, not leaving the reader much time to steep in the life altering choice that Cam makes in the beginning of the book. I also find the references to covid-19 a bit jarring my and not really to my preference. I don’t think I got the impression of how modern this romantasy was going to be and how self aware textbook explanations were going to interject in the main character’s internal monologue. That may serve as a positive for some who are looking for fae and folk in a more integrated modern society, however it was not to my taste.
My expectations aside, I find the content of sentences unvaried and pretty straight forward. There are several YA fantasy novels which provide more present atmosphere, a thicker plot, and more complex relationships that keep my attention. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me! But I do appreciate the use of another language in the text, bringing a unique layer that I do not typically experience.

2.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this, it had that world element that I was looking for and enjoyed the fantasy romance going on. I was engaged from start to finish and was engaged with how the characters were so well done. The overall feel worked and enjoyed the young adult element that I was hoping for and enjoyed getting to know the characters in this universe. Maya MacGregor has a strong writing style and glad it was so well done.

I've read MacGregor before and quite enjoyed their books, but with this one I just couldn't get into the story. I still recommend it because my experience is not universal.