Haven't seen or read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I enjoyed this book- a well written and fast paced fantasy story with compelling characters. Inevitably I compared it to Six of Crows in my head, simply because of the Vice Sector's similarities to Ketterdam. I would have liked to see a greater cast of main characters with more page-time given to Soria and Liesl and Romara instead of just a focus on Amaaya and Cayo, which would have fleshed out the story more and given it greater depth. And I was SO disappointed that the story didn't take the route of creating a relationship between Cayo and Romara, with both of them at each others throats and manipulating and scheming to get the upper hand in their continuous game of cat and mouse. I suppose Cayo wasn't written in a way that would have allowed that kind of toxic yet compelling relationship to he explored, but Cayo and Amaaya being paired off was just too unimaginative and staid. Sim really missed the opportunity to write something brilliant by focusing on Romara who was infinitely more interesting.