3.4444

This dragged quite in the story-building front-middle section and I almost didn’t continue to the end, but I’m stubborn. And I’m glad I finished and will read the sequel to see what comes next.

It is a very looooong story for what it contains, and there is some necessity for the length, but I feel less time might have been spent in certain relationship and more time with dragons.

Honestly, I was close to giving this a 4 when the dragons came into play— but then their part was so limited…

The growth of the main character throughout her journey here is the highlight of the complicated trajectory of her story, and we get a lot of insight into her growth. It is geared to young adults, though the age for this category seems to get older with each publication I read.

I can safely recommend this to students ages 12-18 (some romance, no explicit detail; some war, no gore) with no qualms or reservations, and that's a major positive in the genre.

Ends well, I have to say.