It would be 3,5* rounded to 4.
I'm a bit on the fence about this book. There's plenty of potential, it's enjoyable but I think some more character and world building development would be needed.
I know it's loosely based on the Russian legend of the Firebird but I would have preferred to learn something more about the story, the magical system, the religion of this world.
There's plenty of references but i felt you never get any specific information.
The characters are interesting but I think that the secondary characters were more developed that the main one. The twins were likable and interesting but we learn about them through endless internal monologue that sometimes are bit boring.
The plot is well developed even if it brags a bit. I'm curious to know what will happen and hope that there will be some more character development and information about this world.
I enjoyed it and read it quite fast. I assume that some of my objections are due to the fact that I think that the author can do a lot more and this could be a great series.
Many thanks to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine