I am loving this new trend of sapphic fantasy novels. This one is set in an Indian-inspired fantasy world. The world building was fantastic and the settings and systems and magic systems were complex without feeling like too much. Priya and Malini were both strong characters but in different ways. But they both felt real and flawed and both made some morally grey decisions - though I was still rooting for them. The romance was nice, but is more on the back burner here - it’s more about the world building and the relationships. I particularly enjoyed learning about Malini's backstory and the history between Priya and the temple children.
I did really like this book, but it dragged on a bit at times. It’s a long book, and it took me a while to get through. Still it was a good read! I’ll definitely be picking the next one up.