This book is an excellent story of revenge, desperation, forbidden love, and politics...everything we YA fantasy readers love! I've not read The Count of Monte Cristo which this is a retelling of, so I can't speak of how good/true a retelling it is, but one it's own it definitely kept me interested until the end, with both POVs (which for me, is rare to have equal interest in the POVs). I can't wait for this book to come out, and for its sequel!