Honestly, it took me forever to read this book because the beginning didn't grip me. I was very hesitant on the plot of the book in the first place, but bought an e-book copy very cheap. So I finally decided to buckle down and read it since I was sick of it being in my "currently reading" section on Goodreads. The book totally redeemed itself and hooked me. So much so that I bought the other books in the series and plan on reading them very soon. I wound up loving the politics in the book and didn't think the romance was as corny as it initially sounded. Great, great read.