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This was a book.

A book with luscious worldbuilding. The realm seems like it's JUST on the verge of full fantasy and magic? And the jester Poet has this strange connection with his really intelligent ferret... anyways. The world consists of these elemental/seasonally-themed kingdoms, similae to fae realms but NOT composed of Fae. This pleases me immensely as i love elemental-ey stuff but generally dislike fae. In the book, Summer, Winter, and Autumn (to which our lady protagonist is Princess and heir) have come to Spring for annual peace talks.

Lacking magic, the plot moves along fairly like any other medieval kingdom-esque plot. One fascinating tidbit, however, was the emphasis on equal class within royal marriages; for example, Winter has two queens, same-gender marriages are not looked down on at all, as long as partners are of equal standing. Add to this the prominent bisexuality of the male lead Poet, and there's a pleasing acceptance to the world in this regard - though barring the next plot point I'll discuss. In any case, Poet wasn't bi for the sake of checking a box, it felt organic, and his potential feelings for a male friend of Briar's made a plausible plot. Friends who are romantic rivals and different genders - I like this?

I enjoyed the political aspects of this story, as a human rights' element is a large chunk of the plot. The debate is over "fools", or people with mental/developmental disabilities; these people are fodder for entertainment in each seasonal kingdom. Think of the sideshow carnivals of the old days, but existing in perpetuity, in court, at every feast or festival. They're otherwise kept in dungeons. It was a deeply unsettling plot aspect and one which spurs our two leads to some awesome political machinations and I respect the author's plunge into a worthwhile story with wider messages even for our times: people are not property, no matter their faculties.

Briar was a flawed but wholly admirable, noble female lead. I understand the trauma that has her known as an ice queen at the beginning of the book, her reserve and dignified manners an attempt at control in a world where she may have little over her own life. Poet was given so many dimensions in this. At first he's a shallow, seductive court ornament, and then the plot dumps us on our butts with an excellent reveal that rounds his character so well. The two leads compliment each other nicely and I enjoyed how their romance was woven with mutual accomplishments on each other's behalf. Also, the more mature nature of the romance was written very well indeed.

Lastly, the audio narrators were fantastic. Poet's voice was excellent, a lilting sort of court drawl. Loved it.

Solid 5 stars for me.