I like that this massive fantasy tome from debut author Jenn Lyons takes some stylistic risks, presenting much of its story as dual-timeline narratives interspersed with comments from a later narrator reviewing both accounts. But there's so much info-dumping early on, and so little justification for who is telling all this to whom and why. Even the bifurcated plot feels ultimately unmotivated, since there's never really any moment that would have been spoiled by a more straightforward chronology.

"Convoluted" seems like the best word for this novel, especially factoring in the massive cast and their frequent disguises via past lives, shape-shifting, memory-absorption, and body-swapping. It's hard keeping everything straight enough to actually care about any of the characters, and although I'd read other work by Lyons, I don't think I have it in me to stick with this particular series for its four forthcoming sequels.