I loved this book and how it plays out. You get two perspectives. You have a bard who meets our main character, Tea, who has been exiled. She tells him her backstory and why she is doing what she is. Each chapter is 95% of her past, with the end of each chapter is a brief look at the present from the the bard's PoV and what she is planning. This really helped make the story more interesting, and I loved the shifts. The moments of the present always tease you just enough that you can't help but want to start the next chapter to hear more of Tea's story. I loved her dark magic and necromancy powers. When I hit the final page, I was like "sh**!" and went to make sure I had book 2 on pre-order. 4.75 out of 5.