Feels like a classic fantasy book with political intrigue, war, and characters that are more than cardboard cutouts. Overall a very good read.

Can you give more than 5 stars to an epic fantasy that created a world that I hated to break away from to do life in the "real world"!! This book is so very well written that it is difficult to put down and all to easy to read late into the night and early into the morning hours - I finished it in one day, and then wished I could go back and read it for the first time again! Will I be adding this to my shelf? Yes, because the author has created a fantasy novel that is so absolutely immersive that it simply can't be read only one time. Beautifully written characters, a rich and well developed world, the weaving of fantasy with history into a seamless story is so well done that this book should be an immediate hit in 2026. I hope to see it at the top of every reading list!!