3.5 stars. I liked the concept, I liked the characters, but parts of this book bored me. The whole struggle to get back over the mountain pass went on far too long for my patience. I wasn't that startled by the "twist" (note scare quotes -- I'd been told there was an awesome twist, and I was expecting something mind-blowing, and it just wasn't there). And then I found myself skimming everything after that. If I'm skimming, that's not good. 
 Other reviews complain about the relationship; I thought it was fine. It's WAY better than what you get from Twilight and its ilk. I don't think Cashore is so much holding it up as an ideal as wanting to provide an alternative. It doesn't always have to be about True Love. Katsa is deeply frightened (of herself and of commitment) and a bit broken; we see her struggling with this. I thought that was a good thing. 
 Edited to add: A conversation I had with a friend today made me think I should revisit this review. So many reviews are upset by Katsa's attitudes about men, love, and childbearing. While it is manifestly correct that man-hating does not represent feminism, I don't think this book is claiming that it does. Katsa is a hurting, broken person. Think about it: if you'd discovered at a young age that you had a talent for KILLING PEOPLE, how would that affect you? Would you feel like you could get close to anyone? Would it be safe to have children? Would you feel like you were a monster for hurting so many people at the command of others? That's what the book is about. Not feminism, per se, but about being hurt and finding a way to come back from that. 
 And even if this IS the author's "feminist agenda" -- so what? I don't feel like Cashore idealizes her; we see Katsa's limitations pretty pointedly. If feminism has room for girly stuff, as everyone hastens to point out, it has room for this too. The point, as it always is, is choice. People exist who feel this way; their stories are worth telling too.