This book took much longer to read than I'd expected. However, it went much faster when I realized it's best to read more than one chapter at a time. The pace picks up around the middle of the book as the protagonists begin to work more as a team. The descriptions of the settings are quite vivid, and I've completely fallen in love with the illustrations! 
 While I was ready to give up on the book initially, I'm now looking forward to continuing the series.