I loved the use of language in the book. Frances Hardinge is definitely a wordsmith. The book started out slow and I did find myself struggling to get through it at around 40% but it played out well towards the end. I really enjoyed the twist at the end of the story. The characters were memorable although I did find the protagonist's younger brother mildly irritating and didn't care for his parts too much. 
 Overall I would definitely recommend the book to a friend and can't wait to read another novel by the author.