I received a copy of this book as part of a goodreads giveaway. 
 I will not lie I struggled with a lot of things about this book and I wanted with all my bookloving might to love this book. I stuck with this book from beginning to end in hopes that something would spark and give this book something to look forward to. But it didn't and I am sad about it. Why? Because the actual story is really good. The world the author has created is so intriguing. 
 Rhoda Belleza came up with such a great story and I found to be interesting and compelling. But what killed this book for me was the characters. I loathed Rhiannon throughout the entire book. She is selfish and childish. She has no wits about her at all. I understood her need for revenge, but she's suppose to be the Empress, and when it was all over all she still wants is revenge. I didn't like that she had nerve to judge others for same things she did/wanted to do. I didn't much care for Alyosha much either because I felt he was a bit of a coward and was in constant denial about his situation. But towards the end, he grew on me. Despite his brooding personality, I liked Dahlen as well. 
 I will give the next book in the series a go because I loved this world and I think the story is going to get even better. I still have hope.