I knew I was going to love this one for many reasons: I love stories set in times of princes etc.; I love new worlds, magic and the addition of new ingredients to it such as Gracelings; I love a heroine that can fight even if that is not the common thing out there; and I love a hot mysterious hero coming from unknown lands ready to fall for her. Even if he has the ugliest name he could possibly get. 
 So that did it for me. I know it's YA but bearing that in mind I really enjoyed this one. At the beginning I was a bit puzzled by all the new worlds and places and names I had to remember (Yeah I'm THAT lazy) but then the story progressed and it was a fun read. The premise of the story, and the addition of the Gracelings was really interesting. The characters, I also adored. Some may seem a bit of a cliche but I could relate to the heroine, she seemed to have that 'common sense' that many of the characters in other novels lack. The hero, Po, was fantastic. He was funny, sexy without being cheesy (THANK YOU KRISTIN!) though, again, he has a crappy name. Either one of them. I also loved the ending; and how events turned out for him especially. I don't want to spoil anything but let's just say I was happy to have an ending that wasn't 'wrapped-up-with-a-bow' perfect. It seems more natural this way, and made it different than other novels. 
 I would have liked a bit more romance, but that's just because I'm used to other kind of novels. For being a YA it has the perfect amount and I loved it!