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Kalyn: One of the most difficult moments for me was the first time I read a negative review for THE STORM CROW. What’s a valuable lesson you learned while drafting The Storm Crow? There’s a contradiction in his character that’s intentional, but not deeply explored until book 2, which is that he hates fighting, but in a way fighting it’s all he’s ever known. Kiva’d wear her guard’s uniform, say it’s a costume, and use it as an excuse to bring her sword into the party, then threaten Ericen with it while Thia forced everyone to dance and Caylus tried to disappear into a corner to read.

The stuff they don’t bother explaining because it’s a commonplace part of their lives can be even more important than the big flashy stuff. As for what he’d wear, I’m clueless about contemporary fashion (heh, or anything after about the 19thcentury), but I’m thinking he’d try to dress in a relatively crisp & utilitarian kind of way, but he’d wind up with a bunch of bizarre, super-colorful socks and scarves and stuff that Istrella randomly got for him which he’d wear most of the time because he adores her so much. I always fell in love with whatever new thing I was writing, and each time I’d learned so much from writing the previous book that I was sure the new one was better. Once your book is as good as it can be, start something new to work on while you’re querying, so your hopes aren’t all tied up in one book!

But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Enchantee is a beautiful mix between historical fiction and fantasy, and it’s easy to get lost right alongside Camille – a girl struggling with poverty – as she uses magic to thrust herself into the glittering world of the French Court. I don’t want to say much more, but alongside the high stakes, there’s a romance behind the scenes that I quite enjoyed, and of course, when things get messy – they get REALLY messy. Overall, I loved exploring this world, and I’ll definitely be hoping for another book from the author one day soon!

I’m not going to say much since we’re right at the release, but she’s away from Nikolai + co on some mission in Fjerda, and it seemed to drag and drag. He didn’t have that many POV chapters – and it felt like Zoya’s book tbh. But again, I freaking love Leigh, and I’m not going to get overly critical here. – I’ll add more once the book has been out for a while, but for now, I’ll just say this: Parts of it, I LOOOOVED, and other parts, I’m still totally confused and frazzled about.