Karen

Meh. No strong feelings either way.

Everyone else I know loved this book, and I really wanted to love it. But at best, I felt like it was “ok”. Maybe it's because I'm reading it much later, in a very different political climate? I don't know. But I found myself not really enjoying it.

I'm giving this 2 stars, but let me be clear, it's not because it's not a good book. I can tell that if I had read this when younger, I would have devoured it and absolutely loved the series. It's very good for a fantasy YA, but I think my personal tastes, now that I'm an adult, run in a different direction. There were too many things that felt like plot holes to me (the big bad villain has been exiled in a wasteland for 15 years, yet they talk about how he's hiring lots of mercenaries who will work for anyone who gives them lots of money - where is he getting this money?! He's exiled, alone! etc) and the story was enjoyable but very predictable, and the characters were fairly stereotypical and didn't have much depth. All that said, if you like YA fantasy, or you have younger kids/teenagers who like fantasy, I think this will be a very enjoyable read for you.

I was expecting so much more from this book. It's well written, it's an interesting premise, and I really liked the characters,especially the kids. But the reveal and then the ending just left me wanting something a with a bit more meat to it. (No pun intended.)

This book is fun. It's not complicated, it's not deep, and it's a bit predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read. There were a few annoying plot bits, but I was able to overlook them and I'll probably read the next one.