The Bird King

this is a GORGEOUS book, very atmospheric and character-driven. It took me a little while to get into this world, but once I was in, I was IN. I struggled a bit with the...not exactly magical realism but the light fantasy, I guess? Sometimes it was hard for me to tell what was actually meant to be happening? Maybe it all was? Maybe it doesn't matter, since I was all in for the characters regardless of what they might or might not actually be doing. I especially loved seeing the acknowledgment of queer characters in historical fiction and the varying levels of acceptance that could be found for them among different cultures.