Ahoy there me mateys!  No one is sadder than I am that this book walks the plank.  I love Kate Elliott's work and was excited to read this.  However, for such a short book, I really struggled to engage with it.  The book started out interestingly with a servant, Fellion, being in indentured bondage because of her magical abilities.  I enjoyed the take on elemental magic.  I was very intrigued by Fellion secretly teaching people to read.  Unfortunately the promising setup quickly disappeared.

Fellion is reluctantly drawn into a quest with a group of rebels at which point her intelligence and feisty attitude vanish.  I wasn't thrilled about the original quest but was even less happy with the dramatic and abrupt diversion of the plot to a rescue mission.  The politics became too complicated.  The characters were unlikeable.  And there were just too many unanswered questions.  The book also had some odd sounding dialogue and a horrible ending.

Ultimately, this felt like a poor rough draft or outline for a longer novel.  I wanted better.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Tor.com!