What a story! I have to admit I was a little tense throughout my reading... I couldn't stop because I absolutely wanted to know what happened next! The characters are well-defined and their story brilliantly blends magic, love and the mistakes we can make when trying to protect those we love. The writing is fluid and the story moves along fairly quickly, making it easy to read. I really like the way the central theme (magic) is tackled. The only downside for my taste was that the story was perhaps a little too emotionally focused at times, even though this aspect obviously plays an important part in the story.