You can definitely tell this book is the first in a series close to SJM's heart and one she wrote when she was young. I personally prefer character driven books and this was incredibly plot dependent. I found the main character Celaena to be arrogant, I'm not believing the love triangle starting to be introduced, and the main conflict/action was incredibly predictable. As this is a completed series that has garnered rave reviews, it helps keep me interested and motivated to continue reading, but on its own, this first book did not have me eager to continue on.