Nice book, I like the theme of self discovery the main character is on, and I like the idea of the tea master. Story is nice and cosy, but I think it could have done with a few less events and less speed. I think the story could have been a bit more subtle. And the main character as well, she tends to hit people over the head with things. Including the readers. ( )

Princess Miyara chooses to officially leave her family and goes to a city at the edge of her kingdom. Once there, she has to cope with learning real life skills and discovering her place in society. She studies as a "tea aspirant" who will test for tea mastery in 3 months; something that is not supposed to be possible. She also starts to learn about discrimination among her people.

read 9/20/2023 ( )

This book started slowly for me—it was pleasant but I wasn’t totally hooked as the heroine finds a safe place to live and learns to do things like shop and cook. But it picked up as additional characters and hints of more intriguing plot lines appeared, including a love interest I adored (they study together!). Also, in the beginning, I struggled a little with following the language (she narrates with a formal, princess-y tone) and some of the action (detailed bargains, decisions, and assessments), but my brain eventually adjusted.

By the end, I felt super excited for the characters to triumph over the bad guys. (I don’t think that’s a spoiler for a cozy fantasy!) The story felt much deeper than I expected going in. It has interesting commentary on art and living, and some parallels to real-world issues (systemic racism, gentrification) that are obvious without being heavy handed. It has a great cast of characters and really came together into a dramatic story. ( )

A well paced well written runaway princess story in a fairly interesting world, and if the obstacles are overcome without a huge seeming effort, at least they arose primarily from human greed and prejudice rather than any of the magical elements lying about so handily, which is a great plus. ( )