Usually in epic fantasy the start of the first book in a series is quite slow, and it can take a while until I'm really invested in the story. The Shadow of What Was Lost is very much an exception to this rule. It packs a ton into the first hundred pages, and I was hooked by the end of chapter one. 

I enjoyed the book a lot, I liked the plot and worldbuilding, but it's not consistently high quality. Occasionally the storytelling didn't quite work for me; the pacing sometimes felt a bit off, and events just occasionally seemed a little bit confusing or convenient.  Some characters were interesting and well written, but others felt a bit lacking.  It's a solid four star though: good, but just not quite great. 

A solid read, and I definitely want to get my hands on book two.