There’s a nugget of something here. I oscillated between ‘I get it, she’s bored, and she’s gold, and nothing is happening’ and ‘wait, that was almost something….’

The monotony of the narrative drags you down into the mind-numbing world of Auren’s endless monologue. I almost wanted to feel bad for her – the trauma and abuse she hints at in her past have culminated in some serious Stockholm syndrome. Considering how much we’re stuck in her perspective, though, there are very few actual details about her as a person. There’s lots of hair braiding and descriptions of her ribbons (which I seriously cannot get my brain around. I just keep picturing some weird sci-fi octopus creature – tell me I’m close?) and the neverending snow and gold. If you missed that, it’s snowing, and everything is gold. But with so little information about Auren or the other characters, I cannot figure out her logic. The ‘love of her life‘ locks her in an admittedly large cage, is married to a queen and fucks his harem in front of her. And instead of growing to distrust and despise this obviously terrible person, her loyalty never wavers. I don’t get it.

I know the ratings for these books get higher as you continue in the series, and while I don’t actually know what will happen, it’s not hard to guess.