ML Wang does a brilliant job forcing her readers to reflect on the cruelty of humanity and tackles the helplessness that I think a lot of people feel when confronted with the horrors of what people are capable of to those they deem as less than. The question of what really make a good person is explored by our main characters and it is so heartbreaking watching them grapple with the realities of their world. The book is incredible at building a completely new and fleshed out world and magic system while dealing with topics that are relevant our world today like xenophobia, classism, sexism and the intersectionality of these.

I highly recommend this book as I personally enjoyed every single aspect of it. I loved flawed characters and strong character development and ML Wang is great at delivering that.