Political intrigue – that’s the core of this story, and I really enjoyed it. Lia is a newly ascended queen who must deal with a court who strongly favoured her wasteful uncle as king. Her authority is limited due to a power sharing arrangement with a parliament, yet she wants to make a lot of changes for the better. Xania is chosen as Lia’s Whispers, essentially her spy master.

The book unfolds from there through a series of secret meetings, court machinations, murders, and double dealing. Lia and Xania try to improve things for their people but are challenged at every turn. The romance is a strong thread running through this one too. The ending felt a little abrupt for me, an epilogue serving to explain things that I would have been interested in seeing play out, but overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars from me

QOTD: Guys, I still haven’t had a five star read this year, and I’m very sad about it!! Any amazing recs you can throw my way?