Reviewed:
Tl,dr: Good Stuff.
This is an excellent fantasy of manners that could have been published as a paperback original in the 1990s alongside Martha Wells’ The Element of Fire, Elizabeth Willey’s The Well-Favored Man, and Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint (okay that last is ’80s). Snappy pace, quick dialogue, clashes of court manners and mage-warrior ethos, and an appealing MC who’s out of place but has the intestinal fortitude to step up. Well-written, too, which is always a bonus. The tag #competence-porn would not be out of place. I love the Yellow Jester, as we’re supposed to.
FWIW, that “based loosely” on the song is extremely loose—no knowledge of the original is needed and might even be disrecommended.
Try it. There’s a good chance you’ll like it.