I didn't know anything about this book going in; I got it based on the title, cover, and lovely red pages. It's actually a cozy fantasy with a manic pixie girl protagonist and a brooding, grumpy man love interest, though this is certainly not a romance novel. The writing is rough and disjointed in places, but there's plenty of potential here. The main character's quirky, clumsy thing is usually endearing rather than annoying, which is a blessing.

You easily see the trope coming that the "bad guys" are actually not bad and the "good guys" are actually (comically) bad, but thankfully the "bad guys" don't give up all their badness! There's still severed heads being put up as decor by the end of the book.

I didn't know this was a series going in, so I was a bit frustrated at the unresolved ending, but I'll probably read the next one, just to know what happens next.