This book is the CUTEST THING EVER.
Okay, so, full disclosure: I loved this book as a child, all of E.D. Baker's works in fact. Like, to an unhealthy amount. I probably read this about ten times a year and could recite all of her books word for word. I didn't know what it was, but something about her books really just grabbed me as a kid, and I do think that she is one of the best children's authors out there, because her books, while usually pretty simple, are very imaginative, the characters are pretty well-rounded and have good chemistry with each other, and everything about them is just so very wholesome.
The first one is really good, probably one of Baker's best works, and while this one doesn't necessarily disappoint, because I still love the characters and the world they inhabit, it just fell a little flat. I absolutely loved all the stuff with Oberon and Tamisin together, and Jak is just such a good character that his parts were really enjoyable, but the book just sets a lot of things up that it never really quite delivers on. For example, a HUGE theme in the book is the amount of privilege that the fairies have over all other creatures in the fey lands, and how they oppress everyone else. A big part of this series has always been an allegory for racism, but this book definitely takes it up a notch, which is both a very good and bad thing. It's good, because it shows even the type of microagressions that are present in real life that a lot of books made for children wouldn't necessarily represent (i.e. access to basic facilities are created so that only fairies can access it comfortably/safely, fairies getting to live in the nice forests, but creatures like goblins and griffins having to live in more dangerous and generally crappier areas), but bad because even though it's presented as a bad thing, it's never fully addressed. Tamisin makes friends with the oppressed creatures, but never talks to the King or Queen about dismantling this system. It just kind of leaves it where it is.
Another example of this is there's the case of the gates (which are spots that leave from the mortal world into that of the fey, and vice-versa). In the very first chapter, it's established that the gates aren't working like they should - they're barely opening, and when they are, it's for a very short amount of time. This is really focused on throughout the book, and even Titania mentions it at the end, saying she needs to look into it. For the amount of times that this is repeated, it just seems like it's building up to be something more.
Now, as I'm saying this, I'm also aware that this was intended to be a trilogy, and those things were probably supposed to be addressed in a third book that never got published, so I guess I can't fault Baker. (Though, if she ever wants to pull a Stephanie Meyer and publish it even all these years later, I would be on that in a HEARTBEAT).
Aside from my criticisms though, I really do love the book. Baker creates AMAZING worlds that are always so charming and so imaginative that it's quite easy to lose yourself in, and her characters are all so unique and fun. (Okay, except for Tobi. I just found him annoying). Jak and Tamisin have amazing chemistry, and even before I knew what shipping was, I shipped them.
Overall, there are some flaws, but the book and the series as a whole is just so well-written that I would definitely recommend this to people looking for a lighthearted fantasy.