Random House provided a free ARC of this book for review purposes. 
 Neryn has a special and dangerous gift: she can see the Good Folk, interact with them, and enlist their help. But in Alban, such gifts are banned except when used in the service of the king, and Neryn is constantly on the run from the king's Enforcers. When her father dies, leaving her completely alone, her running takes on a new focus: to reach Shadowfell, where rumor has a band of rebels living. To complicate matters, she meets Flint, a secretive young man, who may help her--or drag her to the king's Enforcers. 
 I was quite thrilled to get the ARC of this book, mostly because Marillier is one of the authors I'm using in my dissertation. Besides that, though, I really enjoy her adult works. While this was less complicated than, for example, her Sevenwaters books--stylistically, politically, and structurally--Marillier in no way talks down to her audience, and I think the only thing making it truly YA is the simplified style and the young protagonist. Marillier does not shy away from tough subjects such as the threat of rape, or death, or the horrors that the king visits on his own people. 
 If I have any complaint, it's that Neryn's feelings for Flint bounce back and forth at almost whiplash speeds. She trusts him, then she doesn't; she likes him, then she hates him; he's essential to her survival, then she wants nothing to do with him. Granted, the reasons for her feelings are real and understandable, especially considering how secretive Flint is and how horrible the truth is when he finally shares it, but toward the end the constant back-and-forth did get a bit much. However, she is a teenager under a lot of stress, trying to find out who she is and what she's capable of, so perhaps she can be excused a bit of emotional see-sawing. 
 This is a very nice book that brilliantly sets up the rest of the series, and I can't wait to read it.