What hooked me first about this book was of course the wonderful cover and the fact that the author was about 16 when she wrote Legacy, so I was curious to see how her debut novel had turned out. 
 The first part of the book was both engaging and endlessly boring - engaging because Alera's life was very interesting to follow and I used to love classic fantasy so much, I couldn't help but losing myself in my memories of The Lord of the Rings, one of my favourite books ever; boring because Cayla Kluver had the annoying habit of describing every. single. inconsequential. detail. I couldn't have cared less about the number of the flight of stairs in the royal palace, or the texture of the princesses' gowns, or how many knives and forks one duke could count in his silverware. 
 The second part was a little more fast-paced and I was introduced to the mysterious Narian, who immediately drew my attention: I think he has a lot of potential and I hope the author will give him more space in the next installments. 
 Steldor was the living - well, written - proof of the sexist system the characters lived in, one I found particularly hard to accept and almost impossible to like: he was arrogant, spoiled, a bully and a male chauvinist - in short, a stupid, narrow-minded pig who just wanted to become king and get the princess in his bed. 
 Now, two words to the dear author: are you familiar with the term 'cliffhanger'? You know, that little thing usually put at the end of books, renowned for being hated by readers all over the world? 
 I'll tell you a secret. We actually adore them. It's what makes us buy the next installments. It's what makes us curious enough to want to read the end of the story right now. 
 So HOW could you finish with such an anticlimactic ending?!? I was extremely disappointed and even though I kind of like your first book, I'm not sure I'm going to read the next ones.