Please be aware that the delivery time frame may vary according to the area of delivery - the approximate delivery time is usually between 1-2 business days. McCosh’s writing style is poetic and descriptive. She uses this to her advantage in describing her story world, evoking the feeling of walking through magic forests, of feeling the lived experience of Fae thousands of years old, and of an intimate connectedness with both magic and the natural world. As far as the characters go, I really liked the main character, Iohmar, and the other fae ruler, Queen Rúnda. They had interesting magical abilities, such as being able to summon the winds to ride or teleport using rays of sunlight. In fact, every one of the magical folk had interesting abilities, though they weren’t always shown as much as I would have liked.

Honestly, this is the perfect book to curl up outside or by a fire. When you want to be engaged in the act of reading and soaking in words, but also soaking in the environment around you.Just as there was no smut there was no cursing! This book was very clean, especially compared to some others I won’t name, particularly for a fae centered book which are honestly disgusting and toxic for the most part now days. But I just really appreciated that. There were a few very subtle mentions of ‘making love’ mostly in past tense, but honestly I barely noticed and they were just very brief unimportant mentions. Which again is much appreciated!

Going into this I was scared I may have set my expectations too high simply bc of the long wait but oh boy I was not disappointed in the slightest at all. Character dynamics were perfect. I found that I quite liked the point of view of a “man” (disrespectful to call him that to be honest because he is the King of the fae), especially one as strong, yet vulnerable as Iohmar. He frustrated me at times with his inability to be outwardly vulnerable to his closest loved ones, but his growth in that area was clear to see by the end of the book. Plus, we love a “man” who can apologize and own up to his shortcomings. I also quite liked how the author played with time and how slowly it moves for Fae. Instead of telling us, however, the author SHOWS us using the life of one particular human who changed everything for Iohmar. (Shoutout to my boy J! Rest in peace, king) More so by how he is defined through his relationships that told us so much about his character and made me love him even more. Literally the one and only thing I didn't like about this book was that now that I'm finished it's over. I want to know more! See the child growing up more and see all the other events long term affects! Learn more about the characters and the world and the past. Don't get me wrong, the book was a perfect length, not too long or short. It's just that I, as a reader, don't want to leave this magical world that Miss Emily has crafted yet.

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The author’s poetic descriptions were lovely, and that’s coming from someone who can’t really deal with world building and flowery writing. It was so easy to read and soothed my fast paced mind. I’ll admit, this was a little slow for me, but I think it is what I needed on those nights where my mind and body were in constant movement. It is definitely a “grab a blanket, cup of tea, and tissues” type of book. Also, this might be weird, but this was my first book that had a third person present tense type style. It threw me for a loop. Because of a the pacing I really have to give this 4.5 stars, but rounded up to a five.

I was getting the vibes in the very beginning that there was going to be this ancient grudge between the male love interest and his brother that would get resolved through a great deal of character growth and maturity....but the brother just turned out to be a little shit with little nuance between the two of them, and there were two OTHER brothers who got mentioned but we never met and it felt like a huge wasted opportunity because there was a ton of mentioned history between the male MC and his brothers. (Nothing makes me angrier than platonic plot lines with a ton of potential that are completely wasted…am I petty? Probably. Do I care? Nope.) Most of the other character interactions were similarly comforting and cozy. I especially loved the dynamic between Iohmar and his wife Rúnda; they were so quietly devoted to each other, and their gentle love fueled the already heartwarming feel of this novel. The interactions between Iohmar and the humans he encounters along the way were similarly poignant. Not only did they serve to drive home the rift between Lor’s human and adopted fae identities, Iohmar’s subtle changes in how he dealt with humans was so tender and indicative of his shifting character. Strangely, even though there weren’t as many characters, subtle interactions like these were what made the world feel lived-in—it didn’t take a lot for this world to feel populated, which helped immensely with my feeling of immersion. Not all of the book was stuff I had trouble connecting with. The world Emily describes is very gorgeous and I could envision myself being in the forest with the sunbeams hitting just right through the trees. I loved the idea of various kingdoms trying to combat the threat of the ripples even if it wasn't as action filled as I imagined. I did feel vaguely happy at the end that a few things were resolved even if it didn't have a big grand conflict at the end like I wanted. McCosh has a way with setting a scene that is refreshing in fae-based storytelling, allowing us to understand and relate to Iohmae that isn't either an entitled or angsty feeling. He soon finds himself in a situation he never saw coming and make drastic sacrifices all in the sake of fatherly love. I did not see the ending regarding the Rippling coming, but I felt like it was a good fit. I do wish we had gotten more of that, but I understand it was paired with another big reveal.

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