4.25
The first thing I'm going to say about this story is that I LOVED it. Second thing I'm going to say about this story is that it is not a light hearted fantasy in the slightest. Gaughen tackles a lot of intense topics like rape, abusive relationships, genocide, etc. in this book.
I think some reviewers have given it a lesser rating because they weren't ready to handle these topics since they didn't know anything about this book besides the synopsis.
I, on the other hand, knew of the more intense topics, and I thought this book was extremely well done. Shalia is a very different protagonist that we're usually subject to. She reminded me a lot of the strong women in history who would be forced to marry in a relationship and then have no power. Shalia was basically thrust into a new world where she had no allies, no friends, and no one to truly help her adjust to this new life.
You could say she was in a den full of lions in a sense.
Though I loved how she had to take her strength and power in other ways that I've never seen done in YA really at all. It was really refreshing!
I think my favorite aspect of the story was the relationships between characters- specifically Shalia and her brother Kairos. I'm not going into too much detail, but the emphasis on their relationship in this story just really left my heart feeling warm or my thoughts on my own older brother. The book is also dedicated to Gaughen's brother, and it only makes me happier because you can tell that Kairos and Shalia's relationship is truly a centerpiece to this story.
I really want to talk about the entrancing plot, but I think I'd end up spoiling it in all honesty- THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES DOWNNN.
They're a few slow parts, but I enjoyed them since it was necessary, in my opinion, to the flow and plot of the novel.