I liked it . . . but only certain parts. I liked that Colin was a prodigy and not a genius and I loved Hassan's character. You don't see muslim characters playing big roles in many books. 
 But in all honesty, I found the book boring, not in general because I'm sure that it's a very pleasant book to many readers, but because it's not my taste. Now, I think I'm gonna skip over and re-read some gorgeous fantasy beauties :))