I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I originally received this book over 5 years ago. I have tried so many times to read it, but I just cannot get past the first 15-20%. The description sounds fantastic and makes for a book that would be write up my alley, but that just is not how the book reads.

I will update this review if I'm able to make it through this one some day, but I really don't see that happening at this point.

Soo... the world was interesting. But... I really didn't care for the characters.

I found Zara to be very one dimensional, always going on about how beautiful she was, and how she never planned ahead for anything. How she just didn't understand why people thought she should be humble. It really bothered me, she is supposed to be a heroine, but all I saw was a shallow little girl who was very selfish. She also always looks at herself in mirrors, and brags about how she is the "strongest wielder in the land", yet she doesn't seem to know how to use this amazing ability to fight.

Johar wasn't any better. I think he was supposed to come across as stoic, but really he was also just a kid who was trying to be what he thought he was supposed to be. He was awkward and unsure of himself and those around him. I liked him more than Zara, but neither character were very strong characters.

The masked villain who is going to cause all the problems, was just that. He was unnamed for most of the book, and still had no face and he wasn't really a threat until the end of the book and that barely lasted a chapter. The rest of the book was the two kids "falling in love". There was too much time with them not making plans on what to do or how to possibly stop the unnamed villain. I didn't buy their love or the romance.