First and foremost, this is such an original plot. The culture described in the story is something I've never read before, and I enjoyed learning about it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the binary/LGBTQ+ representation! The xir/xers/xe (please correct me if I got the pronouns wrong!) pronouns were a first for me, so I was confused at first until it dawned on me based on the context of the story, who it was representing in the book. 

This is definitely more-so a plot driven book, with the timeline leading up to one point and moment. I prefer plot driven books so that was helpful in enjoying this book. The only reasoning for four stars was that it took about 1/2 of the book to start enjoying the story. So I liked it a lot, but didn't love it. I'm still probably going to reread before the next book comes out though. I read this book with a bookclub online, so it was enjoyable to talk about the themes and characters with them.