Because of very good reviews and praise for this book I had very high expectations for it. As with most things in life you have high expectations for, the actual thing usualy does not live up to them. This book could be really good, because the story and the setting are quite interesting (I am not going to give a synopsis of the story, as there are plenty other reviews that tell what is the book about), but I found the book is VERY, VERY slow. I was so bored after 150 pages that I could not continue. I put the book away and did not pick up to read it again for a few months. Eventually I picked up the book (it took a while to convince myself to do it) and struggled through it. The part of the book that I remotely enjoyed came after 300 pages. Although I did guess most of the mysteries, so the ending was not a surprise to me. 
 I would give this book 3.5 stars for its interesting story and setting. Because I cannot give 3.5 stars and I can't justify giving 4, I gave it 3 stars.