First of all, I want to thank Holly Rose for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a solid YA fantasy book debut. The magic system and world-building is top notch and was by far one of the stronger aspects of this book. You know that feeling when reading a series like Harry Potter, when a character casts a spell like "lumos" or "wingardium leviosa" and you know exactly what it's supposed to do and what it means? It's a kind of feeling that makes you feel like you understand the world you're reading (and could even be a part of it if that were possible!) I thought Rose did that beautifully with her story - creating a magic system that was reliable and consistent. This works to keep the reader engrossed in the plot, especially in the action sequences.

I loved the prevalence of aether throughout the book. It almost felt like its own character and created some cool moments where I could picture exactly what was going on in the book. Rose certainly spent a lot of time crafting her world and sharing it effectively with her readers. I think that's such an important part of fantasy books and it was done very well here.

I had a harder time feeling connected to any of the characters. Reyna isn't exactly the most likable protagonist, and I felt a bit frustrated with her at times. I felt the same way with the majority of the main characters in the book. (Except for Zephyr. He's the best.) Maybe that's why I didn't feel as invested when there were bigger plot events (betrayals/fights/deaths) happening. By far, the mage trials were the most exciting bits of the book, where I fully felt like I cared about how each character would fare. I would have wanted to feel the same way about the rest of the book.

All in all, I'm glad I was able to read this and I'm genuinely intrigued by the ending and where the story might continue!