The intro paragraph is written well in a way that quickly captures the readers attention into the story. it didn't feel like i was dragging myself to read it like I have with other books in the past.

I did however feel there was a lot of information thrown at me at once that wasn't apparent why as a reader, especially regarding the lore. I love getting to know the history in worlds like this slowly, especially if it's a new book or the start of a series even, which I think most readers would agree with. Within the first chapter I felt like I was being told all the tiny details, as opposed to getting to see them and fill that information gap in my mind, like how the villagers lived, some of the lore regarding the contract, and more.
There are also moments where I do feel like I discover things about the world organically within the first chapter as well, but some other areas in it could be improved on. One example was the very first scene in the school, and another being some of the exposition when the villagers talk about the Mageri.



Some positives I wanna point out specifically
The paragraph lengths are perfectly balanced in my opinion. None of them are so long that it's hard for me to read through them, and theyre just short enough for my eyes to flow along with it well.


As i got further into the book, i got really drug into the plot. I also found myself in love with some of Zak's banter and dialogue with the others. I also loved seeing his growth into power, it felt very natural.

Overall, this is great! The only thing that threw me off was the beginning, it made me drag my feet a little getting into it.