The author of this book is a friend of Sarah J. Maas' and I can see the influence somewhat in the style of writing and the characters. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and definitely a draw. I love the friendship between Safi and iseult, though i can admit that some of the decisions they made in this are absolutely stupid lol. The fight scenes were also well-crafted though the scenes of romance fall flat.

I also would have found it nicer to have the culture, geography, language and magic system explained better, but maybe the extract didn't get far enough into that. Worldbuilding is a particular pleasure of mine, both reading and creating; I love a fictional world that breathes and exists on its own with complex customs and rituals. Iseult was an interesting character though, with the discrimination she faces and the strong bold she holds with Safi.

All in all, this is what some reviewers would call 'fantasy-lite', and if I were a little younger or less ruthlessly critical I would have enjoyed it.

I love this extract and the final book is awesome.