This book has four successive opening scenes, which leave unclear how much time has passed between them, or even who the main character is. After this cluttered beginning, the book settles into itself, and develops into a well-paced action story set primarily in the Convent of Sweet Mercy, which trains girls from all backgrounds in reading, writing, armed and unarmed combat, poisons, lesser and greater magics and other useful skills. Nona has a rough journey to the Convent: she grew up dirt poor and was sold to a child-taker at age 9 and taken to the capital city. She lived briefly in the training yards of a fighting/gambling ring before almost murdering a man. The Abbess of Sweet Mercy plucks Nona out of prison to carry her off to a training that will only increase her deadliness. In the process, Nona and the Abbess make a dangerous enemy out of the politically powerful father of Nona's victim. His reach is long, and he isn't afraid to attack Nona's friends or the very foundation of the Convent in trying to get his revenge. This story is set in a world almost completely covered in ice. Only a thin ring around the planet's equator is kept warm enough to live in by a huge mirror satellite installed in the sky by the first humans to colonize the world. These people's understanding of technology has been almost completely lost as humans scrabble a dark-ages level bare subsistence from the weak soil. But prophesies swirl of a Chosen One who will finally be able to unlock the secret to controlling the largest piece of tech left from the ancient days. Nona is not that chosen one. But she might be the one destined to protect that person from all the evils of this bloody and dangerous world.... if she can survive her education. The writing is a bit rough, but the story is very compelling. I'm definitely going to continue with this series!