I am not usually a fantasy book person, but I really liked this... At first I thought I wouldn't like it, but after fifty pages or so I suddenly got sucked into it. It helped that there are three different stories in the book that weave together (eventually) and that the characters were so rich and vibrant (I really liked Ragen, for some reason). I liked the transformation of one of the characters towards the climax of the book, even though it's clearly signposted and kind of why we're reading what was obviously meant to be the first in series (it really feels like that). I will now seek out the sequel. Worth my time if only for the term 'seedpods.' I will never look at men in the same way again.