A solid read; though a basic 'quest' narrative, Lo manages to avoid the plodding quality - despite coda-like adventure tagged on at the end. Was also a nice change of pace to have a Daoist-inspired magical realm and romance budding between two women. Having the narrative bounce back and forth between the two main protagonists was slightly confusing; am not sure it was entirely successful. Certainly it explained each of their perspectives in a way that having a single viewpoint would not have, but I feel it could have been handled better, editorially. Overall, if this were a genre Malinda Lo were more prolific in, I would seek out more of her work -- and although I really liked the ambiguous resolution (feels less pat than neatly concluded volumes) would also welcome further stories of this cast.