(spoiler-free review)

Oh. My. Gosh. Why are more people not talking about this book?
I have been busy with my Masters degree and this was the first book I have picked up that was not school-related, but I am just... floored. The world-building is amazing and the story is structured around the characters, and yet you have this magic system and rebellion you learn about as you go. There's socio-political commentary (oppression, injustice, etc) that you can see reflected in the story and in real life. It filled me with righteous rage, and it really kept me rooting for the protagonists. The story is a revenge story, which I adore. The villains are fleshed out enough for you to get a sense of them, but also you understand they're people with evil motivations- I didn't feel sorry for them and I wanted to get what was coming. I was rooting for our main characters the whole time, especially Cyrus. I genuinely didn't see the twist (it broke my heart) until the last couple of chapters. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Brandon Sanderson and Rob Hayes. I need to pick up more Dalglish books to satiate my hunger until the second book comes out (do I really have to wait a whole year???)