I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads giveaway and would like to thank the author Kathryn Purdie, Goodreads, and Harper Teen for this opportunity. I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. 
 I totally enjoyed reading this book, and I had a hard time putting it down, but I had to since life kept getting in the way, other than that I was very engrossed in the story. I liked the characters and the original idea behind Auraseers and how Sonya was special, her power, which consisted of feeling what those around her are feeling, was stronger than others of her kind. Sonya had a rough childhood because of her heightened power- able to feel beyond death and animals, strongly that she becomes incensed at times, and it didn't help that she was an orphan and a peasant. So after an accident, in which dozens die, she gets to be the new Auraseer for the Emperor and to serve him while at the same time stop any would-be assassins from killing him. Add in the fact that his younger brother, Anton, the one who whisked her away to the Palace and the crown prince, seems to catch her attention and threats of an uprising against the crazed tyrannical Emperor Valko, and "being unable to decipher when other people's impulses end and her own begin" and it makes for an interesting and highly intriguing story. 
 For a debut novel, I was actually surprised in its originality and I liked the direction the author took the story and characters into. The characters each had depth, and great character development, even if it wasn't noticeable or done until the very end of the story. It was full of action, fantasy and adventure, but I admit that it seemed to be centered on the romance aspect a lot, especially in the middle. Was there a love triangle? Eh, it's debatable. Sonya being an empath/Auraseer meant that she reflected other people's feelings and emotions so she felt the powerful infatuation of Valko but also was confused about her feelings for Anton. (view spoiler)[It was also confusing to see when she actually fell in love with Anton, it seemed like I was as surprised as Sonya was when she realized that she in fact was in love with Anton. (hide spoiler)] While I didn't really like all the attention Sonya was getting from Valko, and that she kept reciprocating his desire back (view spoiler)[she's an empath, remember? (hide spoiler)] I admit it was a nice way of showing how unstable he was. This was all so that it could move the plot and action forward. 
 But don't think that it's just about romance, this book is more than that! It was also plot driven. The plot was interesting, it was actually deep and thought provoking. It had to do with the monarchy being oppressive, Valko was power-hungry, evil and manipulative, and the prince starting a revolution to end their rule, get rid of nobility, and have everyone be equal and give the people the government, plus their freedom. The ending was very satisfying but I can only predict that Sonya and Anton, not to mention Riaznian and the rest of the country, will be facing lots of complications and bumps in the future before all is perfect. 
 I was actually very interested to know that all of the Auraseer's were women. It had me thinking why there weren't any men Auraseer's, was there some deeper meaning behind it for the story? Were they better at hiding their powers, or just weren't fotunate enough to be given such a "gift" by Feya (the goddess in charge of Auraseers)? 
 Another thing that I liked was that a lot of the terminology reminded me of Russia, and I assumed it was some form of inspiration of Russia and I loved it. The setting and the world building were spectacular, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the world in the next few books. 
 While the story was great an all, it is an ARC, and with it being 3 months away from its actual release, I'm sure there might be some different parts or scenes that will be edited differently once it comes out. But either way, I'm looking forward to reading more about Sonya and Anton! 
 "The mighty isn't one, but many."