Will she give up her dream to follow her heart? 
 I used to be that person who refused to have a "did not finish" pile. Instead, I just had the frame of mind that I put a book down to be finish at a later date, sometimes a much later date. Usually I have quit the book in the first few pages and later on it appeals to me again. This book has actually changed my book philosophy. There are some books that should never be picked back up again - and this book is one of them. 
 This book was, thank the lord, a cheap bookstore pickup due to it's cover looking like its a Young Adult Fantasy which is my favorite genre. If I had even bothered to read the blurb I probably would have put it back down. That first quote is on the blurb. My answer to that question would have been I bloody well hope she doesn't give up her dreams for "love". What the hell? I personally like to think about the message that books send to their young and impressionable female readers. We need kick ass female heroines and we need male protagonists that are supportive, caring and loving. 
 The entire blurb is about whether or not the heroine, Bryn, will give up her long-time career dreams for a guy. It's terrible. 
 DESPITE THIS, I still decided that I would try to read the book. I regret my decision. 
 The writing is terrible, terrible, awful and I didn't even make it through the prologue. The world building is non-existant. Apparently this book is actually set in modern day - like a secret world hidden in human world. I had no IDEA. I thought it was set in high-fantasy. How can someone get to, like, page 15, and not know what world the book is set in? 
 Then, then, there is the insta-love. The terrible, hated, insta-love. This book has the worst example of insta-love that I have EVER read. I can literally show you the moment the couple fell in love in a paragraph. 
 He strode confidently over to us, and I tried to remain as blank and composed as I could, as I had been taught. But it was impossible to keep my stomach from doing flips inside of me. For years I had been admiring him from afar - for his abilities, his strength, his composure, and, if I'm being honest, in more recent years for how handsome he was - and this was already the most personal encounter I'd had with him. 
 Ok, so at this moment the most personal encounter she had with this guy is that he walked towards her. Now, three pages and a casual conversation between her, the guy and her father later. We get this: 
 As soon as they were out of sight, I put my hand on my stomach and let out a shaky breath. Having my first taste of official duty left me feeling intoxicated and light-headed, but that last exchange with Konstantin made me weak. I'd never been that interested in boys, preferring to focus on my training, but now I finally understood what my friends meant when they were going on about being in love." 
 Avoid this book at all costs.