Damiano is an enchanting, charming novel that has a lot of the features I like in my fantasy novels. It's set in an alternate medieval Italy, one of my favorite settings, and the magic is wild and unexplained - something I really enjoy among the recent trend of explaining everything like it's a science textbook instead of a genre novel. There's also a talking dog, which is always fun. Damiano is the protagonist, and he's interesting, likeable, and goes through significant growth. There's not a ton of action, instead the plot is moved along by Damiano's introspection and internal struggle. Religion is a major theme of the book, and characters - especially Damiano - are simultaneous comforted and troubled by it. I'm not religious myself, but after reading Between Two Fires, To Reign In Hell, and God's Demon in the last couple years, I always like when books feature angels and demons. And while Raphael, the archangel who serves as Damiano's companion, doesn't feature on screen as often as I thought he would have, he plays a major role in Damiano's development and in the climax of the novel.

This is a classic fantasy novel. It's not grimdark, and there's not much violence, or even much action. It's written in a different style than most modern novels, less Joe Abercrombie and more Patricia McKillip. It's a quick, short read and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy when I get around to it.