For reviews on many YA book reviews as well as a couple MG ones as well check out my review site Zach's YA Reviews (zachsyareviews.com) 
 Review: 
 Protagonist: Ismae was a character that I was completely shocked by because even though she starts out timid and scared that the life she was forced to lead would be her ruin, she is soon after seen as a harder and more fierce version of herself. Well, it doesn't happen too fast, there is a three year gap in-between. After that her development is more, one of breaking down that wall and changing her thought about right and wrong and her feelings towards men. 
 Romance: When I first began reading this book I wondered if there would be a romance since this story is about nuns, but since it's a YA book of course it had a romance. However, even though the romantic interest is almost immediately discernible once he appears, the romance is a slow burning one and builds realistically. I loved how the author did this as there is a lot of insta-love or fast growing romances happening in too many YA books. 
 World-Building: This story takes place in the small country of Brittany who's government is under the thumb of the French and will do anything to claim their independence and see their duchess crowned. Well, at least most of them do, there is a traitor among the royal court of Brittany and everyone is suspect. Ismae needs to find out who could be betraying her country and keep the duchess safe before it is too late. 
 Predictability: I was surprised at how this book managed to balance the predictability very well. While for a long while there were twists that I kept trying to piece together without much luck, there were smaller and easier ones to keep me occupied. I have to say that while the largest twist wasn't too hard to figure out after one specific moment there was always a bit of doubt in my brain, and there were also many smaller twists or revelations that I didn't see coming. 
 Ending: The ending was amazing for a variety of reasons. One, if you wanted to treat this as a stand alone book, you could. It ends leaving a few more minor details open while closing all of the incredibly important ones. That being said, if you did want to continue this series, the next book Dark Triumph, is told from another perspective and is also it's own story, but expands on this one. The ending is a resolution and has no agonizing cliffhanger to torture the reader into needing more. 
 Rating: 
 This book was amazing! Full of political intrigue, mystery, and treason this book won't leave your hands until you have finished it.