I have been a bit wary about starting new YA series because of the complete crapfest that The Infernal Devices turned out to be and the apparent necessity for every YA series to have a love triangle in it. I am so glad that I didn't give up in the genre entirely because I would have missed this and this is definitely a book that should not be missed. 
 It mixes everything I enjoy - past lives, fantasy, love, angst, magic and it does it seemlessly. It jumps back and forth at times, but it is never confusing with it. This book introduces and builds the world in the best way, and it is a really nice surprise that the world is filled with shades of grey - the right and wrong aren't clearly defined, and the only thing we can be sure of is that at the heart of it, is a wonderfully tragic love story, but even that might not be enough. 
 The only problem with this book is that the ending makes me so glad that I have the second book to start right away, although if it ends the way this one did, I may have a problem!