Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a magical, Italy-inspired setting, the Capo takes over Vinalia and poisons Teodora di Sangro's powerful father. Teo hatches a plan: with the help of a genderfluid strega named Cielo, Teo will shape-shift into a boy, impersonate her brother, travel to the Capo's Palazza, and find the antidote. Told in rich metaphorical language, this high fantasy offers a compelling interrogation of gender, power, and familial duty. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the face of war and family destruction, a young strega fights to claim her power.For olive-skinned Teo di Sangro, daughter of a high lord of Vinalia, "family is fate." As a girl, she stands no chance at inheriting her father's title, but she protects her family from the shadows in a way neither of her brothers can. No one knows about Teo's magic, which she unleashes on anyone who dares to challenge di Sangro power. Teo longs for her father's acknowledgment, but she also yearns to control her secret abilities. When a pale-skinned, black-haired, genderfluid shape-shifter named Cielo appears in the mountains on the same day as an assassination attempt on Teo's father, she gets swept up in a dangerous plot of murder and politics. Capetta (Echo After Echo, 2017, etc.) captures readers' attention with alluring first-person prose and a protagonist who does not shy away from ruthlessness to achieve her goals. As Teo struggles with her place in her family and society, she also explores her sexuality and gender identity. Her interaction with Cielo, who contains a shifting balance of both boy and girl, helps her realize that she too may not always "fit inside the boundaries of the word girl." Through shape-shifting and in her romance with Cielo, Teo discovers the meaning of wholeness and ownership over her body.A delicious and magical intrigue too tempting not to devour. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.