I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I certainly hadn't expected I would be drawn in so quickly. The story is well-paced, the characters are detailed and compelling, and the setting is a breath of fresh air.

I felt a deep connection to Eelyn, the protagonist and narrator; I greatly admire her strength and courage, but also her willingness (if at first a little reluctantly, which is understandable given the circumstances) to open her mind and heart to the experiences of others despite the weight of her own perceptions.

Like her brother, she realises even before survival in the face of a mutual enemy, the Herja, becomes a key motivator in their decisions, that the Aska and Riki are the same - that the blood feud is hindering both clans in ways beyond casualties.

Her developing relationship with Fiske (and his family more broadly), though a little rocky at first, develops naturally and feels real; they seek to protect each other in the ways they can during the changing tides of the Aska clan's sentiment vs the Riki, and the Riki clan's sentiment vs the Aska.