Actual rating 2.5 stars 
 I rounded up to be nice, but honestly this book was just not my cup of tea. The premise sounded amazing, and as I was reading, I kept thinking how much potential this novel had, but it just wasn't executed properly. It took me a bit to figure out that this was actually a dystopian novel, and not a medieval novel (like I originally thought), but there were times when the writing was awkward or odd. As a result, I had to re-read sentences a couple of times before I finally understood what the author meant. However, there were times when this novel really shined, and that's why I rounded up to 3 stars. 
 The one other problem I had with this novel was the characters. The only one I remotely liked was Devlen, and he truly is a great character. I just wish that I liked all the other characters as much. I couldn't stand Sebastian or Zara, and throughout the novel, I couldn't understand why Devlen would want to be with Zara. By the end, she kind of grew on me, but for most of the novel I found her extremely whiny and borderline bratty. 
 I can see how this novel will appeal to many people, but I'm not one of them unfortunately. As I said, this had great potential, and there were several times in the novel where I was getting into the story. I thought it might get better, but then I just got bored again. The ending was a bit more exciting, but at the same time predictable. You probably could skip this one in favor of other series, such as Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, or Robin LaFevers His Fair Assassin series. They aren't dystopian, but they have that medieval theme to them.