I wasn't sure how I would like this book at the beginning, it started with a first-person narrative, and a rather poetic style that was not what I was expecting. Then it changed to third-person. Wow. It took a little bit to get what was going on, but the story is fantastic. Complicated character and plot development. Comparable in tone to "The Curse of Chalon," but with less strange magic. The magic in this book has really been very mild, and slowly developed. I'm looking forward to see what it can do in the rest of the series. 
 I appreciate the maturity of the writing, no gratuitous language (there is some, including f-words), or hormone surge scenes. It felt quite real throughout. Introspective, life in a difficult time.