this was such a good book. good characters, good plot, good worldbuilding. i loved the dragons (i always love the dragons). it’s violent and it’s not afraid to pull punches, which is sometimes lacking in YA fantasy, and i even liked the romance (if you know me, you know i almost never like the romance).

the pacing felt a bit too fast at times—some scenes would have had more impact if they had taken more than a couple of pages—and, because i’m a baby, i refuse to accept one particular character’s death, but those are the only reasons it’s not 5 stars.

otherwise—really, really good book.