I had a lot of mixed thoughts coming into this book. The back cover of the arc copy (that I won in a giveaway from another blog) I read did not match the book at all really. It had me thinking the book was something else so when I sat down to read it I noticed on Goodreads the synopsis was different. SO it threw off my expectations. Which was probably good as it gave me a slightly more realistic attitude. And my journey through this ran those thoughts to the max. Boring at time but characters left me intrigued and easy to feel invested in. The magic elements are very mild. Barely mentioned.. The very first chapter probably has the most magic than the rest of the book combined! 
 This was more an alternative historical drama. Lots and lots of drama... 
 But the characters still draw me in. Almost to the end and I am thinking 3 stars then the ending through out all this stuff, some that doesn't even fit just to wrap it up. I felt like I had suddenly missed entire chapters. I actually had to go to a bookstore and find this book to skim it to see if there is a major chapter or ending difference somewhere. Nope. This is suppose to be a series. It is claimed as "Book 1".Umm... apparently not happening as the author has chosen to not pursue this. And so much is left unresolved!! Grr...I don't even know if 2 stars is okay now but the writing was decent. So 2 I shall give it But I would still take my time back for reading this one.