I love me some Fonda Lee. Between the danger of hunting manticores and of training rocs, I was IN. Going into an animal-centered book, you do have to brace yourself for some kinds of trauma in that regard, but I do think that it was all done with care. Ester lets being a rukher quickly consume her identity, projecting onto her roc Zahra. As the story goes on and they get closer, you just know that the devastation is impending. It's a phenomenal novella, giving you just enough about the world as a whole for you to understand the stakes... but not so much that it becomes a full length novel. It's truly phenomenal.

*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*