This was one of those books that started out really well, but lost steam as it went along and nothing much happened. The writing, on the other hand, was amazing. It was SO NICE to read a book that had perfect spelling and grammar. The author's writing style is more old-fashioned and flowery than much of what can be found in YA fiction nowadays. It's not pretentious or overdone at all, just classy. The characters are decent. The main character, Lark, is soft-spoken and timid, but develops quite a bit of stubbornness and courage as the story goes on. Gharain, the love interest, is fine but nothing special, and I never could quite figure out how to pronounce his name. I wish I could say that the plot was as expertly done as the author's writing style, but unfortunately, it falls rather flat. The story continues on but there's just not much excitement in any of it. There will be at least one sequel though, and hopefully Evie's story will be a little more exciting than Lark's was.