I sort of feel like the Tearling books are a little bit of a let down. There has been so much hype and I just don't know that it has lived up to it. I thought it was a cool concept (fantasy/dystopian) and that has definitely kept me going with the series. In this particular book, I thought that most of the language and references to rape, and violence were unnecessary. It seemed like the writer just put it in there to prove this was an "adult" novel and not a "ya" novel. I know that these books aren't supposed to be YA, but personally that is how they are written. 
 I did really enjoy the flashbacks in this one and honestly, I was actually more interested in Lilly's story. The last 20 pages were by far the best in the book. 
 I will definitely read the next one. The concept is pretty original and there is so much potential, but it just fell a little flat.