I want to start with a disclaimer that nonbinary covers a WIDE range of identities and presentations. Normally I'm a fan of geek trivia dropping characters, and while there were some good bits said, both common and more obscure, it felt like it was trying to give her a character trait apart from 'evil lawyer'.

Nehal, on the other hand, is a noblewoman from an old family who is married off to settle her father’s debts.Hmm… I enjoyed the first two books in the The Witches of Thistle Grove series (I devoured them) so I was excited to dive into this book. Lana Harper is the author of four YA novels about modern-day witches and historical murderesses ( Wicked Like a Wildfire and Fierce Like a Firestorm from Harper, and Blood Countess and the forthcoming Poison Priestess from Amulet, written under her maiden name, Popovic).

However: When you take the time to include a scene where the protagonist says he uses and welcomes BOTH he and they pronouns, it’s a kick in the teeth to not see a single, solitary instance of ‘they/them’ used to refer to Morty. Their family laundry is laid bare, the toxicity evident and so clearly laid out I almost couldn’t understand why Nina wouldn’t just run away. She's spiky and self-controlled - and then gets paired with the wonderful Morty, who despite having he/they pronouns is he throughout the book.Reading the difference between Nina and Morty's families was fun as was Jessa, Nina's BFF (I'll just be over here hoping she gets a story).