I'm sorry to say this but I knew that this book and I weren't going to get on from the very first few pages. I think originally it was a combination of the writing style and the way certain things would be repeated over and over. Later on the plot started to factor in too. 
 The book's biggest problem is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. There are two separate storylines that don't merge well and that detract from each other rather than complementing each other in order to improve the story as a whole. Furthermore, neither storyline is brought to a satisfactory close; I was honestly surprised that this isn't the first book in a series. 
 The author goes to lengths to introduce a vast number of concepts and aspects to the plot that she then doesn't follow through on, the most glaring of these being her world building and her magic system. 
 I'd been really looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately I find myself disappointed.