It could have been so, so good! This is one of those cases where the worldbuilding totally sucked me in, but certain other things fell flat. I was tantalized enough to finish the book, but I could see some moments where the author could have tightened it up a little more or brought the themes to play in a more engaging way, that would have made it gripping and unputdownable.
What didn't work for me:
The start was very slow for me. Even though a lot of things were happening, I was left with loads of questions that were glossed over and never taken up again later in the book. I could see the author was trying to give the two main characters depth, but somehow it didn't work for me. It was almost forced, and then I had these moments where I thought, based on this person's back story, this particular behaviour just doesn't make sense to me. Someone with that particular type of baggage isn't going to do this thing. (No, I'm not going to delve more deeply into this because I do not condone spoilers).
What did work for me:
I really enjoyed the unusual magic system and the rather intriguing world. As I mentioned before, the author has clearly spent a lot of time developing the world and it shows.
Honestly, with a little tweaking, this book could be amazing. It's not there yet, but it doesn't mean it won't get there if the author keeps on working. For the time being, I give this book 3.5 stars because although it has flaws it did keep me going all the way to the end.
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