Beautiful. 
 The simple beauty of this book has struck me more forcefully now, 12 or so hours after reading the book, than it did immediately I had finished. Simply beautiful. But then again, I wouldn't expect much less from Ms. Shinn. 
 So.....The Thirteenth House is book 2 in the loosely-connected Twelve Houses series. This time around, it's mostly centered around Kirra. In the doing of errands for the king, Kirra meets and falls in love with Lord Romar, Princess Amalie's uncle and regent elect. Their love is forbidden, considering that Lord Romar is married. The rest of the plot is a chronicle of how our how Kirra navigates her forbidden love while working for her King. 
 I thought Ms. Shinn did fabulously in the exposition of Kirra's doomed romance, tying it seamlessly into the larger plot, not allowing it to overwhelm other elements. It was nuanced, beautiful, and heartbreaking, as all doomed romances are. I enjoyed myself. I especially liked that Ms. Shinn was able to put Kirra's love life into proper context, showing it's far reaching effects on the people she loved and had come to call family, on Lord Romar's life, as well as on herself. The climax and resolution of this relationship broke my heart, but I thought it came to a very satisfying conclusion. I was especially happy for Donnal :D. 
 I am rambling. I don't know what to say. All told, Kirra's story is beautiful, poignant, unique, and well-narrated, as is almost every story Ms Shinn writes. Not a waste of time. At all.