Oh, so interesting re your reaction to the Alice Degan. I absolutely see why you feel Kit/Peachy relationship was the most interesting and intense, but I wasn't that interested in Peachy except as a zany generator of plot and was VERY invested in the main het romance. Kit and Elsa's dynamic just really worked for me. I was outraged that magic being a thing only gets established at some absurdly late point in the book, though -- I thought the solution to Peachy's disappearance was SO unearned! But I had a lot of fun arguing with myself about why I thought so and thinking of revisions to make the book work better. (Which didn't reduce my enjoyment of the book one iota; it was one of my favourite reads of 2022.)

(And I am glad you enjoyed Black Water Sister, thank you!)