"When I was a little girl, I thought my father was the king of Vinalia. ---The first time I saw him kill someone, it made perfect sense. A king had to protect his family and his mountains."
I was so beyond excited for this book! I read the excerpt on BookishFirst and was immediately swept up in this lovely fantastical world with it’s genderqueer main character, Teodora di Sangro, and her ability to change her family’s enemies into whimsical and decorative objects. The setting, politics, and familial relationships are all engaging and definitely evoke a mafia-esque inspiration. Luckily for me, I won an ARC copy and got to read the entire thing-- and it did not disappoint! Not only did the world and characters sweep me away, but I absolutely fell for Teodora and her fierce personality.
"No matter what form I took, I had the same heart, the same hungers, and a thirst to punish wicked men."
I mean...be still my heart and all of it’s desires--GIVE ME MORE! Teo is exactly the kind of heroine that we need right now! And I’ve got to say, in our current world, I’ve been in exactly the perfect kind of mood to read about wicked men being punished!
"Imagine all the violent men you could change into lovely objects."
Where Teodora lives, five major families control the politics, economy, trade, and pretty much all the ins and outs of the country. These families in turn answer to the Capo (strong mafia vibes here!). And Teodora is a di Sangro, one of the strongest families amongst the five. As a second daughter of the di Sangro family, certain things are expected of Teodora. But Teo’s desire is to be the true heir of the di Sangro family, she’s fiercely devoted to her family and listens solemnly to all of her father’s lessons. Teo also rids the family of their enemies by using her magic to transform them into objects, but because magic is forbidden amongst the five families, Teo must keep her abilities and her identity as a strega (witch) a secret.
One day a letter arrives for her father from the Capo and he immediately falls perilously ill. It quickly becomes evident that the Capo has sent all of the family heads these letters in an attempt on their lives. In the elder di Sangro’s absence, his heir will be sent to the capital, Amalia, to meet with the Capo. But their father wished Teo’s younger brother, Luca, to be the di Sangro heir and he wants nothing to do with politics. Teo vows to aid her brother and figure out how to change into a boy to go in his stead. Having recently met the mysterious strega, Cielo, who has the ability to change sexes at will and somehow has ties to the Capo in Amalia, Teo enlists Cielo to mentor her in learning how to change her body as they journey to the capitol.
"There is magic that comes easy, magic that is like breathing. And then there is control."
I absolutely loved the two main characters in this book. Cielo is the perfect combination of a wise-cracking, sassy, sometimes naughty, but still full of heart and mystery, kind of character that I always love. And Teo… Teo’s emotions, ideals, and thoughts drew me completely into her character. I loved her fierce personality and her drive to do what feels important and correct to her, despite the odds. Her love for family is a very obvious and visceral thing throughout the book, but we still see growth in her character as her story continues in that she begins to realize that she can love her family fully, while still achieving her own desires as well. And the romance that blossoms between the two of them is precious and heated all at the same time, they had great chemistry!
This book also contains such a beautiful message about gender fluidity. I loved the way this story looked at society’s ideas of gender norms and the different burdens and responsibilities that society attaches to a person’s perceived gender.
"“It’s true that I contain more than one thing,” Cielo said. “And sometimes the balance shifts.”
Understanding rustled through me, soft as leaves. It wasn’t quite the same, but I’d often felt I didn’t fit inside the boundaries of the word girl. It reminded me of a country I could happily visit, but the longer I stayed, the more I knew I couldn’t live there all the time."
I also liked that though both Teo and Cielo change sexes multiple times throughout the story, it is still touched on that they each experience and feel about this and how they identify themselves in their own individual ways.
"Now that I was a boy, words flowed out of me with no obstruction. As a girl, I’d had to swallow at least half of what I wanted to say."
And this book also carries such a powerful feminist message as well. Teo is constantly being reminded of the limitations of her sex and the preconceived notions that people ascribe to women.
"I had never felt how much of the world I took up. I had always been made to feel smaller than I was."
"During my time in Amalia, I had found truth in knowing I was not one fixed thing, and now I couldn’t imagine living only in a boy’s form because it was easier to wield power as a man."
And the way she fights back against those notions is inspiring to watch.
I honestly loved everything about this book. I loved the characters and their development, the romance (which I don’t usually love) was adorable, the magic was whimsical and lovely to read about, and the politics of the world were intriguing. Definitely a five star read for me and full of so many powerful quotes! It ended really well, but at the same time, I have hopes that it becomes a series!
**All quotes taken from the uncorrected text and are subject to change upon publication.
I was so beyond excited for this book! I read the excerpt on BookishFirst and was immediately swept up in this lovely fantastical world with it’s genderqueer main character, Teodora di Sangro, and her ability to change her family’s enemies into whimsical and decorative objects. The setting, politics, and familial relationships are all engaging and definitely evoke a mafia-esque inspiration. Luckily for me, I won an ARC copy and got to read the entire thing-- and it did not disappoint! Not only did the world and characters sweep me away, but I absolutely fell for Teodora and her fierce personality.
"No matter what form I took, I had the same heart, the same hungers, and a thirst to punish wicked men."
I mean...be still my heart and all of it’s desires--GIVE ME MORE! Teo is exactly the kind of heroine that we need right now! And I’ve got to say, in our current world, I’ve been in exactly the perfect kind of mood to read about wicked men being punished!
"Imagine all the violent men you could change into lovely objects."
Where Teodora lives, five major families control the politics, economy, trade, and pretty much all the ins and outs of the country. These families in turn answer to the Capo (strong mafia vibes here!). And Teodora is a di Sangro, one of the strongest families amongst the five. As a second daughter of the di Sangro family, certain things are expected of Teodora. But Teo’s desire is to be the true heir of the di Sangro family, she’s fiercely devoted to her family and listens solemnly to all of her father’s lessons. Teo also rids the family of their enemies by using her magic to transform them into objects, but because magic is forbidden amongst the five families, Teo must keep her abilities and her identity as a strega (witch) a secret.
One day a letter arrives for her father from the Capo and he immediately falls perilously ill. It quickly becomes evident that the Capo has sent all of the family heads these letters in an attempt on their lives. In the elder di Sangro’s absence, his heir will be sent to the capital, Amalia, to meet with the Capo. But their father wished Teo’s younger brother, Luca, to be the di Sangro heir and he wants nothing to do with politics. Teo vows to aid her brother and figure out how to change into a boy to go in his stead. Having recently met the mysterious strega, Cielo, who has the ability to change sexes at will and somehow has ties to the Capo in Amalia, Teo enlists Cielo to mentor her in learning how to change her body as they journey to the capitol.
"There is magic that comes easy, magic that is like breathing. And then there is control."
I absolutely loved the two main characters in this book. Cielo is the perfect combination of a wise-cracking, sassy, sometimes naughty, but still full of heart and mystery, kind of character that I always love. And Teo… Teo’s emotions, ideals, and thoughts drew me completely into her character. I loved her fierce personality and her drive to do what feels important and correct to her, despite the odds. Her love for family is a very obvious and visceral thing throughout the book, but we still see growth in her character as her story continues in that she begins to realize that she can love her family fully, while still achieving her own desires as well. And the romance that blossoms between the two of them is precious and heated all at the same time, they had great chemistry!
This book also contains such a beautiful message about gender fluidity. I loved the way this story looked at society’s ideas of gender norms and the different burdens and responsibilities that society attaches to a person’s perceived gender.
"“It’s true that I contain more than one thing,” Cielo said. “And sometimes the balance shifts.”
Understanding rustled through me, soft as leaves. It wasn’t quite the same, but I’d often felt I didn’t fit inside the boundaries of the word girl. It reminded me of a country I could happily visit, but the longer I stayed, the more I knew I couldn’t live there all the time."
I also liked that though both Teo and Cielo change sexes multiple times throughout the story, it is still touched on that they each experience and feel about this and how they identify themselves in their own individual ways.
"Now that I was a boy, words flowed out of me with no obstruction. As a girl, I’d had to swallow at least half of what I wanted to say."
And this book also carries such a powerful feminist message as well. Teo is constantly being reminded of the limitations of her sex and the preconceived notions that people ascribe to women.
"I had never felt how much of the world I took up. I had always been made to feel smaller than I was."
"During my time in Amalia, I had found truth in knowing I was not one fixed thing, and now I couldn’t imagine living only in a boy’s form because it was easier to wield power as a man."
And the way she fights back against those notions is inspiring to watch.
I honestly loved everything about this book. I loved the characters and their development, the romance (which I don’t usually love) was adorable, the magic was whimsical and lovely to read about, and the politics of the world were intriguing. Definitely a five star read for me and full of so many powerful quotes! It ended really well, but at the same time, I have hopes that it becomes a series!
**All quotes taken from the uncorrected text and are subject to change upon publication.