3.5 stars 
 A good book with some good world building! 
 We have 5 different Kingdoms that originally came from one kingdom, there are power plays at hand and magic in the mix. 
 I loved the lore, how the kingdoms came to be and Sepora's magic. I would have enjoyed it if there was more magic, but that's almost always the case. Although the magic was minimal here.. The plague added a bit of interest for me. 
 Tarik is a good guy, but a bit predictably so. Sepora is a bit of a snowflake.. The characters didn't endear themselves to me enough to invest much in their personal stories, and at times things were just too convenient and happened a bit too easily. 
 But I really am keen to see if there is war and what happens with the kingdoms.