This was a very anticipated read and it had the potential to be 5 stars. I loved the folktales, the different creatures, the magic spring, the atmosphere. I liked Sylvia and Lorelei, as long as they were on their own together. But I was not prepared for the amount of antisemitism Lorelei faces in this book, and the level of antisemitism that exists in this world.

I say antisemitism because even though the Yeva are not called Jewish, they obviously are. They have rabbis, they have the same customs, etc. They also live in a walled-off district that they can't leave whenever they want, and they have basically no human rights or protection. Also, among the several kingdoms that make up the book's united nation, there is one that is basically full on Nazis. (I'm not exaggerating - the heir to this nation who travels with the other main characters literally published a paper on "inferior races" and such.) So like, major trigger warning.

The religion itself isn't really developed in-world and feels copied over from real life. Lorelei and the non-Yeva both reference a "God". Is this the same God? Does it have a name? What are its traits? Or am I just supposed to assume it's the same as the Christian or Jewish God (which one)? Since this is apparently a fantasy world with fantasy territories, this felt kind of out of place.

In short, there were some good parts, hence the four stars, but there were also a lot of holes in the worldbuilding that the sexy queer enemies-to-lovers romance couldn't hide for me.

edit: Apparently the author is Jewish, so take my feelings with a grain of salt, since I am not. This review isn't a condemnation of the book, but I think it does deserve a content warning for Lorelei and her people being treated as subhuman, and I maintain that the religion wasn't really fleshed out in-universe.