I truly flew through this book, there were a lot of moments I really enjoyed, and I liked the idea of the world and the characters. However, the whole of it felt flat and lacking for me, the characters didn't have a lot of emotional depth and they all felt like side characters, the intricacies of the magic system were never explained, and the world itself was underdeveloped (and I really wish there had been a map!). The idea of women being denied access to the same magic as men is obviously drawing a parallel to the real world, but that's all it was, a parallel, there was so subtlety or nuance to it whatsoever, there was no effort at sweeping prose to pull you in, no metaphor for drive it home, it was simply spelled out right in front of you. 
Though I was entertained, I wish there was more nuance, kinda like watching reality TV. So, 3/5 stars.