This wasn't bad, but it was long--long enough that I was doing the math of time invested/time remaining. I made it through, but only by sheer force of will, not because I was engrossed in the tale. 
 This struck me as a blending of The Magicians and The Prestige, without the fascinating parts of either, with a romance reminiscent of that in The Scorpio Races insofar as I was barely convinced the characters knew each other, much less were in love. There was one scene in particular where it's obvious that their conversation is supposed to be the sexiest, most intimate chaste conversation ever, and it was just ... blah. 
 I wanted to like this, honest. Unfortunately, very little in the book didn't fall flat for me.