Hatred isn't innate, but it can be taught. Blaise Sunseeker has been told of the cruelties and horrors of humans since the very day she was born, and has been raised by her mother - Agnes the Wicked, most feared of all witch kind - to hate humans and act as a living weapon against them. This, of course, is complicated by the fact that she's the only human born of the witches of the Iron Woods. As she grows, Blaise knows her mission will be to one day infiltrate the human court of her mother's most reviled enemy, Queen Lizabeta, and her infamous witch-hunting adopted son, Prince Kaspian.
When an attack moves up the coven's timeline, Blaise finds herself thrown into the Reilian court, and finds herself questioning everything she's ever been taught about humans. With the queen growing more suspicious of her by the day, threats of war looming in the shadows, and Blaise's treacherous heart turning towards the prince, Blaise will soon be faced with choices she can't take back - which could spell disaster for herself and all those she holds dear.
Blaise's story was such a fascinating take on witch communities - though her family is on the run, living in the shadows, and on the brink of extinction, I really loved the very offensive stance taken by this book on reclaiming their place in the world. This was also a curiously unique magic system and I really liked the lore and detail of how witchcraft presents- both from a physical and a practical standpoint - in this novel. Blaise absolutely went through it here, and I think the ways in which she confronted a lifetime of hatred and the challenging of her core beliefs felt true and like something I myself could have faced in similar circumstances, which I really like in writing.
Overall, this was a really fun, somewhat spiced, and full of all of the things you could want in an interspecies romantasy full of court intrigue, peril, found family, bantering, secrets (physical and emotional), war, action sequences, second chances, and redemption. I think anyone who loves a solid fantasy romp who's looking for a unique take on the genre with witchcraft, romance (but also substance and heavy plot) and a cliffhanger that will leave you nervous and wanting more will find something to love in this series!