I would have been really disappointed if I hadn't loved this book. I've been bingeing Chinese TV dramas for months now and this is one of very few books I've found in the xianxia fantasy genre which I can actually read (most sadly don't appear to have been translated into English). In addition I have the stunningly beautiful Fairyloot edition of the book, and would have hated to need to give it up if I didn't like the book. 

Fortunately, I very much enjoyed it. It did take a while to really grip me - while the plot and characters were decent from the beginning, something indefinable was failing to fully hook me until approximately a third of the way in, when events took a turn and suddenly I was all in. From then on, I didn't want to put the book down. 

I already own the Celestial Kingdom duology by the same author, so I may well decide to pick those up within the next couple of weeks.