** spoiler alert ** 
 I read this book a long time ago, I think in middle school, and rereading it as an adult it was even better than I remembered. 
 Much as I loved this book, Mel is an exasperating face-palm-inducing character to read about in part one. I say that in an endearing way now, looking back. There are a couple sections in part one that were frustrating to read, though admittedly necessary to Mel's character development. Mel has such a frustrating lack of common sense, and goes back and forth from a state of being captured to a state of being on the run a few too many times. 
 She starts off naive and ignorant, which allows her character great room to grow and really allows her character to be very grounded, but at the same time her ignorance drags on for so long that you can't help wanting to slap her in the face sometimes! First is when she escapes the town where all her enemies are camped and then purposefully goes back because "they'll never suspect it" ... or wait maybe they will and it will be REALLY easy to find you! Oh, Mel! Second is when she refuses to join the alliance. I love her firey temper, but you think that just once she could use a little bit of common sense and realize it would be the best thing she could do for their people, and that she really needs to pick the lesser of two evils here. She does figure it out in the end though. 
 All that being said, I believe her character is intentionally exasperating in part one. It was really refreshing to read about a relatable and not overpowered main character. She is very flawed, but she is also brave and really cares about Remalna and its people. 
 Part one is decent enough to be entertaining, especially the climax, but Mel's character development comes a bit late and part two is where this story really shines. I did not realize this as a kid, having been not very well versed in 19th century literature at the time, but part two is a Jane Austen novel, or reads like one, and this is amazing. 
 Mel finally, finally, grows as a character, and continues to grow throughout part two. Seeing her struggle to learn to be literate in the world of politics, to think before acting, to control her temper, to rise in the court and win the hearts of many, and most of all to watch her determinedly become more educated rather than accept her ignorance was very satisfying and a wonderful story to read. I could not put it down. The mysteries of all the characters are well written and suspenseful, and as the reader, you really feel quite as lost as Mel and it's great to figure things out along the way as she does (first person narration is used to its full potential here). 
 The villain in part two is much better than Galdran. In fact, Galdran was so briefly present (only a few pages) and underdeveloped that I would say Mel's ignorance is really the villain of part one, not Galdran. It's not incredibly hard to figure out who the villains are, but I was still surprised by the extent of the their plans and by Flauvic's hidden magic powers. 
 Mel's unwitting courtship with Vidanric is also perfectly done. Vidanric gives her the confidante she needs and they get to know each other on a deeper level, which really makes their relationship in the end believable and satisfying. It was the perfect way for him to circumvent her attitude towards him. Vidanric harkens back to the best of the Austen love interests and I love him for it.