It often doesn't resolve their issues either, as neither are actually good communicators who talk properly through their problems, and Kianthe in particular is riddled with personal issues which she refuses to convey to Reyna, despite insisting her girlfriend must share all her issues, and it only causes problems for the two of them. It was hilarious seeing Wylan and Feo bicker and our main couple envision a rivals to lovers relationship for them.

When she's not writing (or avoiding writing), Rebecca can be found traveling the country as a flight attendant, or doing her best impression of a granola-girl hermit with her two dogs.They're filled with so much love, tenderness, and care for one another and are actively communicating through conflicts and roadblocks to be better partners for each other. There's also a lack of solid worldbuilding, and as other reviews have pointed out the book isn't really a "cosy fantasy". The book balanced cosiness and adventure well, with stakes high enough to avoid falling into repetition or boredom but not so high they take away the cosy part. There was lots of humour that did actually make me laugh/smile at times (and then despair of myself in the case of some of the puns). this book has a really bad case of telling instead of showing, and this was one of the biggest spots that illustrated that.

the stakes should be low, the conflict should be mundane (but important to the characters, and by extension, to us), and there should definitely not be multiple near death experiences. It's got a very First Draft of a NaNoWriMo manuscript feel to it, with a lot of darlings that frankly ought to have been killed. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters – all complemented by love and good company.I like how the book starts with an established relationship, but one which was forbidden and then we see how they adjust to proximity when they manage to run away.