Let me preface this review with one thing. Patrick Rothfuss is not just my favorite fantasy writer, but my favorite writer. As a writer myself, I connect deeply with the way he tells a story, the incredible amount of time and thought he puts into his world building and with every word I feel his love and unyielding connection with his characters. 
 This story, as he states in the forward, is not like his others. In fact, it's not like most. And I don't know about you, but I don't pick up a book hoping for it to be like most. That would be a rather boring life of reading. Still then, it's different. It's the story about Auri. But it's not her past. There is no explanation for how she is who she is because there need not be one. We are who we are because we are. It's who we are. No, this is a story of how she is, not how she came to be. 
 Don't go into this story with any expectations. For sometimes we go into things with expectations without realizing we have them and if there is one thing I know about expectations, it's not to have them. Period. If you have expectations then you are going to judge something solely on how it met your needs, not, in the case of a story, the needs of what needs to be told, must be told. It doesn't do what most stories do. And, my dear Rothfuss, that is a rather daring thing to do and that is why you are my favorite writer. 
 After reading this story, I felt a certain kinship with Auri. I didn't understand her but I understood her. She is much like a little lightning bug, often unnoticed, small and fragile, squashed by others, but within, glowing bright and full of life, still hanging in there. 
 And let me wrap this up by saying that, never in my life have I cried reading an author's note, until now. Patrick. May I call you Patrick? Even your author's note made me feel more understood and more understanding. I am so appreciative of the fact that you wrote what needed to be written because you love that little girl. I know you were nervous about how this story would resonate with readers but I'm grateful that you had someone to say something that encouraged you to pass that draft along. For we slightly broken misunderstood people just need one person to understand us, to give us that push to remind us that our take on life matters, even if 'unconventional,' and that we must do only what makes our hearts swell and our fingers tap away. I thank you, not just as a writer, not just as a reader and a rather big fan, but as one of those slightly broken people out there. I understand you. I thank you.