I'm sad to say that I was a little disappointed by this book. The plot was promising, though I felt that the follow through wasn't quite original enough. 
 The beginning of the book was as though I were reading Harry Potter, complete with flying lessons, mischievous ladders (instead of staircases), meals appearing on the tables through magic, and the spiteful teacher in the cellar (instead of dungeon). To be honest, I almost didn't make it past the first chapter, though I am glad that I did. Once I got past the first 40 pages, the story picked up a little, and began to take on its own character. 
 One of the hardest things for me was the dialogue. For some reason, it was largely lacking in contractions. I'm a huge fan of contractions. It's the way most of us speak, unless of course english is not our first language. I was not surprised to learn that the author is originally from Denmark. 
 I'm on the fence about whether or not to continue with the series. The ending of this story was certainly compelling, so I may just give it a shot.