2.5 stars, rounded up

The magic system in this book is so amazingly unique and interesting! And I have always been a sucker for muti-POV books.

There were things that I wished were more fleshed out - the history/mythology of the Empire, more depth to the other characters, and just more information about the different forms of magic. But considering this is a trilogy, I am assuming these titbits were left out for a reason.

So, onwards we go! Time to get my hands on the Bone Shard Emperor ASAP!

While I did enjoy this book, there was too much telling and not enough showing. Also wow, that ending was so unrealistic and over the top

Did not expect to enjoy this book so much!

I didn't truly sympathise with/care about any of the characters; but I did have moments, some longer than the others, where I did find myself understanding them and their motivations and maybe sympathising just a little bit. I think that's what made this so enjoyable for me - the shifting sympathies and complex characters that were very fickle and very very bloodthirsty (Cornwall and Goneril, I'm looking at you two. DAMN).

note to self: try reading the first chapter of books before recommending them for the book club's BOTM

The cat didn't actually save books! Also the quest and problems weren't very interesting and dangerous seeming.

I thought bookstore + Before The Coffee Gets Cold vibes + a cute cat would mean an engaging and interesting read. Would have dropped this if it weren't a BOTM (who picked it as BOTM? ME!) sigh