A freak accident, or was it? kills the Elvish Emperor and his immediate heirs, forcing his exiled half-goblin son Maia to take the throne. Ill prepared Maia must navigate political intrigue, bureaucracy, assassin plots and find a wife. It sounds more exciting then it is. 
 This is a book about political intrigue, nobility and royal court system, basically behinds the scene of royal government. Instead this is a character study that could be used to show children the other side of fairy tales. Why you don't want become ruler as it is lonely on the top, boring trying to remember formalities, and people trying to undermine or kill you. 
 Can also be used as a study guide for royal formality, when to use the royal 'we' the informal 'I', etc. The main character is extremely likeable, idealist and relatable which saves the book as we have empathy for his situation and watch him grow. 
 The world building is excellent, you can tell there is a bigger world not fully explored and the characters are all well developed. However, while it take place in an elvish kingdom and main character is half Goblin, other then ear movements it doesn't take advantage of being fantasy, could easily be rewritten as historical fiction with different human cultures. So many similar names and titles, I gave up trying to remember who everyone was a third of the way in and just relied on context. 
 If you like political intrigue, reading about nobility, being inside a confused character head and a positive book read it. If you want to be thrilled, excitement or lots of action look somewhere else. It a nice contrast to dark and grim fantasy that seems to be the norm today.