As with all Andrea Host's novels, I really appreciate the world building of this novel, it is full of details and it forms a coherent whole, contrary to what we found in many other popular books. However, as mentioned by other reviewers, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to follow all the neologisms that are introduced and it certainly require focus, despite the fact that it is a part of what makes this book so interesting. It may be because it was the first book she wrote and she wasn't yet as skilled as she has become when she write Medair, one of my favorite books. 
 The plot was also interesting and well developed, but I found it a little too fast. Certain parts could have been a bit more exploited, which would have allowed us to better appreciate the developing relationship between Ash and Tornaster. As it was, I found that the moment between when Tornaster realizes that Ash is a girl and when they marry was too short: he directly desires her and shows off for her (which was fun to read nonetheless) and only hours after, Ash is in danger, she is saved and he proposed to her. Otherwise, I found that their interactions were really fun, with a lot of humour and snarky repartees; they really form a good couple. 
 I loved the characters of Ash and Tornaster but also of Kiri and of the king; I wish we could have had some resolution of their relationship; to have them fall in love again may have been a bit too sudden after what happened to them, but it still felt a bit unfinished. 
 The ending was a bit anti climatic for me, as the bad guy is already dead and the last scene before the epilogue is a bit too fast, I didn't really feel that the characters were really in danger. I preferred the scene where (view spoiler)[Ash is in the well or the scene of the hunt, with the race, the search and Ash's climbing. (hide spoiler)] It may be because there was only magic involved and because of this it felt less real? 
 In the whole, it was a good read, I will certainly reread this book, but it wasn't my favorite Andrea Host's novels and it would be better with a sequel to closed all the plot threads.