Ok, so I was expecting a brilliant enemies - to - lovers romance, but really it was just a subplot; in the background kind of thing. I did, however, really like the political intrigue. Although, I am not sure if we - the readers - were supposed to like and sympathise with the characters, because I most certainly did not. Okay, so Jude is traumatised and has to live with her parents' murderer, but she goes to a land of magic and faeries, and her step-dad really tries to make her feel more comfortable in the new land, so I really cannot comprehend why she's so whiny about all of it. I sympathise most with Cardan - which I think we're supposed to? - because his brother beats him and he doesn't really believe in the system of Faerie.
I think overall, in this book - not the whole series - the characters are not the best, they could certainly have been written better, but the plot and world building was fantastic.
I think overall, in this book - not the whole series - the characters are not the best, they could certainly have been written better, but the plot and world building was fantastic.