I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. It is Kristin Cashore, so of course the writing is good, but the story is a bit strange. I've read a few books now that include Covid and I'm mostly ok with it. I'm even ok with including politics in these stories because you really couldn't get away from it at that time. It was a strange and difficult time in our world. However, my tolerance for Covid and politics in a fictional story seems to be based on the realism of it. When paired with a fantasy feel including visions and mentions of magic, it just seems less acceptable some how. This is (obviously) just my personal preference, so feel free to give it a try if you love that sort of thing.