I'm not going to lie... I struggled with this book. 
 It has everything to be a fantastic story: adventure, fantasy, strong heroine, slow burned romance that does not overwhelm the story, chases and escapes, court intrigue, plotting, no love triangle, fast pacing, etc. 
 So why didn't I love it? I needed to take a minute before writing this review to understand why it took me so long to finish the book and it was not easy. I arrived to the conclusion that the main character was the problem. 
 Trying to portray her as strong and independent went a bit too far and resulted in her being stubborn, childish and annoying. Her actions are not rational and are driven only by her prejudice and resent. 
 The story is divided in two parts: Crown Duel and Court Duel. They are very different, the first one dealing with the rebellion and the second one dealing with the court intrigue that follows. In other words, the first part follows Mel being chased, escaping and running around the country like an ant and being rude and resentful to one of the other characters for no reason whatsoever. She is stubborn to the point of annoyance. During the second part,(view spoiler)[ she accepts to attend court and learn court etiquette in order to decide which one of the candidates to be the next ruler would be best for the people... BUT SHE DOES NOTHING OF THE SORT DURING HER WHOLE STAY AT COURT! SHE JUST KEEPS ON BEING JUDGEMENTAL AND HER FINAL DECISION WAS OUT OF THE BLUE. SHE DIDN'T TALK TO EITHER OF THEM SERIOUSLY AND JUST DECIDED OUT OF THE BLUE (hide spoiler)]She is inconsistent and childish throughout the whole book! 
 She does have a bit of character development and the story redeemed itself towards the end, but nothing can change how I struggled during the first part due to the main character. 
 The romance was nice, but it started too late in the story in my opinion (due to the main character being stubborn mainly) and it felt sudden on her part. I think it needed a bit more development and face to face interactions. 
 I'm a bit disappointed, but if you like a fast paced fantasy romance, this is for you.