*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. 
 I have to admit, it took me a while to really get into this book. Not that it wasn't interesting, I was just so confused. Miralem! Fanarlem! Daramons! The first half of the book kind of see-sawed between not enough information and too much. By the second half of the book, it really took off. 
 I found myself much less annoyed with the Hidden Lands' constant history lessons and lengthy descriptions when I realized this was going to be a series. The author did a fantastic job with world building and including even the smallest details, making it seem all the more believable and real. (I want to try a can of B-Bite.) 
 I really enjoyed that the romance remained on the back burner throughout, enough so that I was always wondering whether they were going to get together at all. (At least in the first book. It seemed obvious that at some point they would get together.) Olivia was an awesome heroine, one of my favorites in a while. She was strong, kind, and completely non-whiny. I hate whiny, self-pitying heroines. And Alfred, adorable Alfred. I really liked him. There were a few moments when I found his complacency annoying, but by the end of the book, that aspect of him was gone. I love watching characters grow, and grow he did. 
 Now, for the best part, the drawings! I loved them so much. I wish more books had illustrations. 
 I have to admit, I was not a fan of the couple of little chapters interspersed throughout the book on how the book came about. I love reading about the author's process and getting inside an author's head, just not in the middle of the book. It kind of jerked me out of the story. In my opinion, that kind of thing is best left for an intro or at the end. 
 All in all, a really fun read, one I truly enjoyed.