There are a few things that hold this back from being a 5 star book, but it's a solid 4 and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Overall, the characterization was pretty well done. There was also a good amount of worldbuilding, terms were generally explained well, and the dialogue was above average. The downsides

1. The main characters are inept a lot of the time. It seems like they're pretty bad at everything for most of the book, and it's not clear why they should be after 8 years of training.
2. The action sequences vary between a bit too long and way too rushed. Action is never a make-or-break aspect of books to me, but in this case it was a bit off and caused me to very temporarily lose interest in the book.
3. The worldbuilding lacks expansiveness. Enough is explained to tell the stories of the main characters and contextualize their decisions, but otherwise the worldbuilding is rushed.

These are all things that separate the good from the great, but I still think this series has a lot of promise. Looking forward to seeing where this goes! ( )

This was not such a stellar novel as much as it was the right book at the right time. This book presents an engrossing fantasy universe with an intriguing enough story and three young characters written for adults. This is a welcome change from all the fantasy, SF and dystopian fiction that borders on YA even when it's not marked as such.

But, the best part of this is that one of the characters is undergoing his training in a remote monastery (inspired by Buddhism, but with a twist) and there is a strong spiritual component to his arc which is rare in contemporary fantasy fiction and which I loved. Kaden's story was the slowest, but the most intriguing for me. It offered a nice respite from Valyn's arc. Adare's chapters were the weakest for me, so I was grateful that there were not as many. I guess this was because the political events in the capital were the only predictable part of the book for me.

I won't go into the stuff so many people write here in the comments about the treatment of female characters, traumatic experiences etc. I strongly believe every writer has the artistic freedom to write about whatever they want and create whatever fictional world they want. It is especially tiring to see every new novel following certain trends that get boring very quickly. In that respect, this novel feels almost traditional, but after so many fantasy novels I've read it still manages to be fresh. It reads like a classic.

This is a rare combo for me in the recent fantasy, hence the 5 stars. ( )

By in large I enjoyed this book. I wasn't particularly interested in the characters til closer to the end, but I did want to figure out yhe world. ( )

The vocabulary in this book was just... *fans self* ... SEXY!!!

In addition to a number of well-developed characters and a dynamite story, this thing had a depth I rarely get to enjoy in a fantasy book. I love the idea of exploring the human capacity/capability through several sets of eyes, all to which I can definitely relate. This thing has swords and monsters and princesses and assassins and everything that makes readers of this genre LOVE the genre, plus a bit of crossover for exploratory readers.

If you are a lover of fantasy and/or new words, definitely read it! ( )

Three words: women in refrigerators.