The main characters had little chemistry, falling for each other based on the time spent on the journey rather than actual feelings. On top of this very dry romance, every single time one of the characters starts to fall for the other all you read is "I am the Queen's Assasin" or "He is the Queen's Assasin". The repetition of this phrase throughout the entire book felt like the author was filling space and made for an extremely frustrating read. Shadow is also introduced as the princess at the very beginning of the novel, but her reveal at the end acts as if the reader is not supposed to know she is the princess. The wrap-up just felt very predictable and forced. There are minor themes of cheating in the book but, they are literally spies on a mission and their brother and sister gag just makes their pining even more awkward. By the end of the novel, the two characters don't even solve the main conflict when there was definitely time to do so. Dragged out and cringe-worthy.