I think you can lean more into the fantasy if that’s the part you care about. I will say the third and fourth book are really more steeped in fantasy, but obviously never leave the historical setting, so maybe that’s too big a barrier. The fantasy is tied into religion, but also into music, if that adds any extra intrigue. I also am not a frequent or big reader of historical. I got sucked into the found queer family and intrigue of being queer when our modern language didn’t exist to communicate it.

Not pushing extra for you to give it a go, just adding some more context.