3.75/5

So I REALLY loved the second half of this book. It had a good steady pace, lots of suspense built around the "solution." That said, it was a bit of a clunky start for me. Had a lot of elements that a million other YA books have. It's not original honestly. A lot of parts reminded me of Six of Crows and/or Throne of Glass which is fine. I have just read a lot of "the same" YA fantasy books recently. The real gem of this is the setting and characters which are not from an English western country/culture--which is EXACTLY what saved me from DNFing the book.

Of all the characters, I ADORE Finn the most. She's a genuine person and pretty consistent. The changes in her are slowly developed so you don't get a big whiplash of her becoming someone new after going on am adventure with the future ruler.

Also, the romance in this is so low key and un-distracting. I was bracing myself for Finn to suddenly abandon her plot for a joy she loves so they can be together. Heza! None of that shit here!

The magic system was really cool. I'd love to be able to shape shift! I also loved the explanation of when Finn began to shape shift. It tugged at my heart strings.

Lastly, look at that GORGEOUS ass cover! If they change it for book two, I'm gonna burn the publishers building to the ground.