I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I believe there is a fairly decent story. There were good parts and interesting secondary characters. The split in the world and the Forest of Laida (go soul trees!) were particular favorites of mine.

However, none of the characters appeared real to me, and I had difficulty believing some of their actions and the developments that happened throughout the story. Seycia, Haben, and Miko all made unexplained leaps or had out of character moments throughout the book. The secondary characters held promise though and provided some of my favorite moments of the books. General Simeon as the villain added to the story and gave a solid central figure for the protagonists to oppose (as did Dohv). The main romance did little to convince me that it was true feelings and not desperation or adrenaline.

There were odd jumps in the story-telling, and the pacing seemed all over the place. In some instances of information was repeated unnecessarily, and the principle of "show not tell" was completely ignored in terms of storytelling. My opinion of it improved over the last few chapters, but it was slow going for me for most of the beginning and a good chunk of the middle.

Overall, not a bad book, but I would be unlikely to suggest it to friends as it is now. I could see it as a possibility for older middle-school readers, but again - not quite something I would feel comfortable recommending as a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.