I was in a rut and in a mood for fluff. Something vaguely romantic or funny. The book seemed to appear of its own idea and I liked the cover. Sometimes that’s all it takes. I think people are far too dismissive of the importance of good cover art.

As to the charge of needing to be vaguely romantic or funny; this book delivers. It was quick paced, very sweet, and I liked it.  The dialogue at times took me out of it because it was too much friend-speak or jokey and not what I expected in a fantasy-romance. That is a compliment. This book delightfully doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The trope of enemies to lovers through an anonymous letter mechanic is hardly novel, but the romance is heated, the itch scratched.

What’s memorable for me for this book, however, isn’t the romance aspect. It was the fantasy.

The world building, which the reader is thrown into rather than sermonized at, was well paced, well thought, well devised. I would be happy to learn more about this fantasy world, the gods and creatures, and found myself finding the book all too short. I really enjoyed the aspects of fantasy which were neither overdone or underdone but meted out as necessary to the romance. It’s a very character driven story.

(If I’m speaking in an odd cadence, blame Susanna Clarke. She’s next week’s review.)

I really, really liked this book. I quickly recommended it to a friend. Sometimes the pursuit of fluff is perfectly admirable. Not every book need be dark or poignant, which isn’t to say this book lacks poignancy. But rather, it’s fun. I found myself doing that all too satisfying thing of skipping back and forth to passages I had liked or that had stuck in my head for one reason or another, which I always mark as a sign of a great writer.