The cover, the blurb, the MC's age, and a bunch of other factors led me to believe this book was YA. However, what I got was much closer to MG, a type of books I don't read too often and need to be in a specific mood for. Needless to say, I wasn't in that sort of specific mood and may have gotten annoyed because my YA expectations weren't meant. Perhaps that's why when I think about Briarheat, I think about the flaws first: the prevalence of telling over showing; the pacing issues that make it feel like the story doesn't even start until about 2/3 in and then gets crammed into too few pages; the secondary characters who often felt flat and far from fully realized.

At the same time, even with all that flaws at the front of my focus, this book has a certain charm. I loved the relationships in Miri's family; there's no "wicked stepfamily" trope here at all, and that's refreshing. Everything about Aurora's Companions, their training, camaraderie and adventures felt both naive and hopeful, like a wholesome fairytale for kids (and if this is indeed MG, it's probably how it should feel). The fairies were interesting, the unicorn was lovely, and the dragon was compelling. 

I don't regret reading it; I just wish there was more clarity about what age group it's written for. I swear I've seen it tagged as YA in at least three different places.