While this is first in a new series, it's a direct follow-on of the author's Hall of Blood and Mercy series and there's a lot of cross-over, at least to start (not least of which that it was in that series that the Night Court crisis culminates). Since I loved that initial series, I highly recommend reading it first. That said, you can definitely start here if you like and don't mind a couple of cameo's that won't gel without knowing the events from before.I really liked Leila in her appearances in the first series, so if I had known she was the main character in this I'd have jumped on it sooner. As it was, I got a thrill as soon as I recognized where we were and settled in for the fun. And I wasn't disappointed.Leila is a great lead character, frankly. She's dropped into a new (to her) situation so she makes a great entry for the reader. Plus, she's sympathetic and fighting a terrible inertia in her court that has them wasting so much effort fighting each other that they aren't even aware of the multi-level crisis they actually face. Coming in as the head of a house divided is it's own special kind of difficult and I loved seeing Leila rise to the challenge.And I liked even better how the story leans into Leila's dual heritage as half-fae, half-human. I like how she has to embrace both aspects of her heritage in order to succeed, using her human side to throw spanners into the usual workings of the court and her fae side to take the resulting disruption and forge it to her purposes. And I liked even more the solidity and support she has in her family.There's not much else to say. The romance, if it is there (and it probably is), is extremely slow burn. We get some PoV from Rigel but it's only barely enough to get a sense of his personality and purpose. I like what we see of him, though, so I have hopes this will turn out well.Since I couldn't put it down and stayed up way too late to finish it, I'm giving it all five stars. I'm glad to see this come up and can't wait for the others. My only real regret is that I've caught up to Shea's production and will have to actually wait!A note about Chaste: Yeah, there's no sex, explicit or otherwise. Leila isn't in a place of trust or intimacy so it makes sense. Not even any kissing, so this is very chaste.