3.5 
 This was one of those books that I read and just enjoyed, with no sarcastic commentary running in the background. I didn't notice any flaws until after I finished the book. The writing was that good (of course I blame the writing. There's nothing better than bewitching a person with words). Speaking of flaws, this book totally screams for a reread. 
 If I like it, then great! If I don't, then at least I get to stomp over it with muddy boots. 
 I liked how this book went from casual events with no stakes to major events with high stakes. <3 
 I did not like how this book just glossed over the realistic details. So, yeah, this book is perfect if you want to kick back and relax. Nothing too gory. Slavery was glossed over. Characters were glossed over. In fact, this book pretty much had me convinced that the Valorians were the good guys and the Herranians were the bad guys. 
 The Herranians used to live in the country before the Valorians came and decided that now, the natives of the land would serve the invaders. In fact, Valoria was modeled after Rome. As much as textbooks love glossing over the negative side of Rome (everything has a bad side, right?), well, they definitely weren't good guys to me (it was mostly the upper class though). This book, though, made me sympathetic to Valorians. It made the Herranians seem like rebels, when in fact, they were only fighting to get their land back. Biased writing. -_- 
 The characters were okay, but they didn't have much depth. 
 Jess is pretty much the typical bff - you know, perky, social, and everything else bff. Nothing about her really stood out out to me. Kestrel chose to save Jess with the medicine, but why? What's the backstory? There isn't much backstory about anyone in this book. 
 One thing that Kestrel, the main character, is good at is bluffing and manipulating. It's nice to see something different from other YA characters. 
 The thing that stood out to me about Arin was that he liked commanding, and like Kestrel, he was good at strategy. He was bitter in the first part of the book, but that pretty much disappears in the second half. In the second half, he was all, I luuuuv Kesrel, and let's win this battle. WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING BITTER? What happened to the thing called revenge?