liked: - nice cast of well fleshed out characters that I could relate to - great (build up of) relationships/friendships - capable women - nice worldbuilding and vivid magic system disliked: - Miranda kind of changed halfway through the book which I found weird - slow start, it took me the first third to relate to the characters, story kind of picked up in the later half - no real stakes for the MC - no real obstacles for the good guys - everything always fell into place or at maximum took 2 weeks which went by in 1 sentence - resulting in low tension for most of the book - for all the talk of strategy most plot progress was made by luck or factors the MCs had no influence on - as such it reads like an undeserved power fantasy, which was still enjoyable but any wins or "power ups" weren't really earned: because I didn't see her struggle for her powers in the first place; so I didn't find myself cheering her on, because the story set her up in a way I knew she'd win anyway - no emotional connection to the end - since this possibility never came up beforehand and because Sydney was insistent on paying whatever price necessary the end felt kind of hollow, it didn't strike me as a special sacrifice for her All in all: enjoyable but light entertainment, great if you don't want high stakes or a nailbiter book the mystery aspect was what kept me turning the last 150 pages

Very well plotted This book is extremely well plotted, and a great story. However, I felt the prose could have been more descriptive, and so for me - and this is very much subjective - lacked the depth that truly hooks me into a story. Apparently there is a sequel on the way, and I will definitely read it. But it won't be something I rush out to read the moment it is published.