Rating: 5 out of 5
From the first paragraph, I was taken in: mystery and adventure, which soon turns into a very complex political battle between various parties, of whom the reader is not sure who the protagonist Elienne can trust. I found her to be intelligent though often captive to fear of her own security—for understandable reasons.
In this, the characters of the Prince and the Regent provide some interesting contrasts between how things can be done and what motivations one should have for doing those things. The Prince is clearly a noble soul, unwilling to have others sacrifice for him while also meeting the typical demands on a “good ruler”. In this, the Prince is perhaps the most trope-y of the characters Wurts has created that come to mind, but this does not detract from the book. The Regent, seemingly more eloquent and generous, is nevertheless clearly too over the top in his impartiality not to have some vested gain in it.
What also captivated me was another new system of magic that Ms Wurts has created. What are its limits? Who exactly are the conjurors and where does their power come from? And how come the magicians in the new land are so much more powerful than where she came from? These are all questions that don’t really get an answer in the book, but a reader is likely to ponder them while magic is happening in this story. And, lastly, perhaps: how come the author is so keen to bring in demons? But that’s already a question outside of the frames of this book.
I enjoyed this throughout, but—lastly—some of the scenes herein are very cruel and emotionally powerful, not at all easy to read.
