I considered giving this a 3 star to be nice, but this book was mostly just tolerable. I listened to it on audio, so I don't know if the terrible narration affects my opinion, but I think this book is highly overrated. I felt like it was too predictable, except that very last part. That last bit of news was the first surprising turn of events. The set up is great, and I feel like there was a lot of potential for the plot. The writing was desciprtive, but I feel like the story doesn't flow and certain events are forced just to make the next event possible. Specifically, (view spoiler)[ The scene where they visit Dorthea about the cup. Why would you tell her the truth about everything and then open it up right in front of her? Obviously, it's so they can have that cheesy battle scene where Simon saves the day! (hide spoiler)] It definitely reads like it's meant for a very young audience. The characters were very young and sometimes I just couldn't relate to them. Overall, I felt the story was not all that coherent and some of the scenes are anticlimactic. It wasn't so bad that I will have trouble continuing on with the series. I am reading this as a group read with some friends, so I will definitely finish the series. I just hope the plots improve.