Best example of courtly political intrigue in a fantasy novel? If not the best, easily top five. I can see why Addison chose to write about another character in her next novel in this world, though. She created a fascinating and developed elvish steampunk world, and we only get to see a small bit of it because main character Maia is stuck in a handful of locations that are mostly ancient buildings. Also I appreciate her showing how boring the everyday actions of governance can be.

Bonus points for accurate use of the English formal and informal first- and second-person tense. Thee and thy isn't formal just because it's archaic, y'all. The narrative indicates that in these elves' language plural and formal would be different, unlike in English, but I was able to follow when it was the former and when it was the latter.