When I was reading this book, I found out that Bridget Zinn died before she could see her novel published. That fact unsettled me because, among other things, Bridget and I were born in the same year, we were almost the same age when she passed away, and that remembers me (again) how brief our lives can be. 
 Although I think it's great that the book could be published in spite of everything, I really really think too that there was a lot of editing work missing in it that could have made the book stand out instead of being just one among many. 
 Some parts that affected the rhythm badly should have been cut out, some reasonable changes in the characters would have made them more believable, the embedding of some flash-backs was not timed right or the flash-back could have been spared, some scenes were too obvious where they were heading (like the river crossing part, I mean)... Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the book, but I couldn't help seeing the flaws. 
 But let me tell you the positive things of this book that makes me even sadder thinking that Bridget Zinn won't be writing stories like this one anymore: 
 - Rosie, the piglet. That is a new approach to the animal companion and I liked it xDD And she was adorable. 
 - Fred: I love his personality and the surprises he hid. 
 - The other surprises, including the bad guy (yes, it surprised me, so what?), Kyra's secrets and unknown allies. 
 - The potions, although I would have loved to have more details about them, but that's just my inner potioner :P 
 - The book is very... hmmm... movie-ish? movie-able? movie-turnable? Don't know the word (if there is any). I could see it turned into a movie as enjoyable as "Ella Enchanted", for example. It has everything to be a great fantasy movie: potions, poisons, hidden talents, charismatic hero, strong heroine, princesses in distress, conspiracies, road trip... a piglet!!! It may not be the best written and structured book, but I think it could do a pretty good job as a story on the screen. It would make me very happy to watch that movie... 
 In the end, the book is enjoyable and entertaining. Not the best one out there, but good enough to spend a couple of hours in it... 
 Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and netGalley for providing me with a copy of the book