2.5-2.75ish stars. Well...that was disappointing. I have heard so many amazing things about this series from people whose opinions I value very highly, so I was expecting to love this book. Unfortunately, I found myself dissatisfied with the majority of this book.

World-building:
The world-building in this book for me is probably about a 3/5. I just wanted more. I wanted to know more about the cultures of the Volarian and Herrani people, what their relationship was like before the invasion, etc. one thing that really could've helped me get an idea of the world would've been a map in the front of the book. I love maps in books of other worlds, and having one would've helped immensely. I don't feel like any one thing was explored particularly well.

Plot:
The story started out slowly for me. There's isn't any real external plot the drives the narrative, and the internal plots were not well-developed. If the story had focused more on Kestrel trying to help the slaves obtain their freedom and her internal struggle between what she had lived her entire life and what she knew in her heart to be right, I think I would've appreciated this more. As it was, the story focused more on her wanting to play her piano rather than join the military or get married. It took me awhile to care about what was going on. I think it picked up once we learned of Arin's true motives and especially after the Herrani's mutiny against the Volarian. At that point the story moved very quickly all the way to the end. The pacing was just off.

Characters:
Sigh. This is where I had the most difficult time with this book. First, let me start by saying that I liked Arin as a character for the most part. He is strong, thoughtfully intelligent, and protective of Kestrel even when she treats him like utter trash.
If you couldn't tell by that last sentence, I thoroughly disliked Kestrel for the first 3/4 of this book. There were moments I liked her. Her interactions with Enai and her reaction to Enai's death were very touching. However, for the most part I found her to be just insufferable. She buys Arin at auction for some reason that is never fully clear to the reader. After the auction, she ignores his existence, instead leaving him to perform tasks at the discretion of someone else...until she has use of him because she's not allowed to go out by herself. We are supposed to think that she is an advocate for the slaves, when she spends most of the book being apathetic (at best) to their oppression. The only time she advocates for them is when it involves someone she actually has personal feelings for (Enai, and then later Arin)

There is another moment with her father where she admits to herself that she can't decide between fascination and revulsion when he speaks about the Herran invasion.

After the Herrani uprising, I found myself thoroughly disliking her. Here are a few notes I took while I was reading:

Pg. 241
Kestrel is talking about how brutal Arin is when her own people's prosperity was brought about with them brutalizing and enslaving an entire culture of peaceful people. So hypocritical. I don't know what the author is expecting, but I'm rooting for the Herrani, and I honestly feel like Arin deserves better than Kestrel. I find her really unlikable right now.

Pg. 245
Kestrel is really pissing me off with her self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. I get that she's upset. It's understandable when so many people she knows have been killed, but to not see the hypocrisy and double standard there is just maddening. There's no thought of, "if my father hadn't brutalized an entire nation of people this wouldn't be happening now." She is acting like an entitled bitch.

Pg. 247
She wants the delight of giving an order to a former slave and being obeyed. How on earth is this person an advocate for the oppressed?!?!

Pg. 260
I seriously don't know if I can finish this book. He tries to tell her about how he has suffered and she shrugs it off saying she doesn't care and that he could 'tell his sad story to someone else.' Then she gets angry because he used her and lied to her...the same way the Herenai had been used for years. Aaaack! Not to mention how many times in the book she uses others to get what she wants. She manipulates, blackmails, and gives orders to attain all her wants/needs. There is no moral high ground for her, and her callousness toward Arin is enraging.

Pg. 261
Then she starts to weep for someone who treated her like shit and would've killed her if she hadn't blackmailed him. What?!?! This man tried to KILL HER! I can't even.


On a related note, I didn't buy the romance between these two at all. I got a hint of it at the very end, but I wish it had been explored and developed more fully.

Kestrel somewhat redeemed herself near the end of the story, with the way she was able to broker peace between the Volarian and Herrani people, but it was too little, too late to save this book for me. It did bump my rating from a solid two to a 2.75 (rounded up to three) out of five, mostly because it makes me curious to see where the story goes from here and how/if she's able to get out of this forced marriage to the emperor's son.

One thing I almost expected to be revealed was that Kestrel is actually Herrani and not Volarian. It would explain her musical talents and obsession. Maybe in book two...or maybe I'm totally wrong...

I will pick up the next book in the series. I do hear from people that the series gets better, so fingers crossed!