This book did a really great job at capturing my attention, but I struggled to stay interested after the first few chapters. 

There was no real introduction into the story, you kind of just got thrown in right off the bat, and while there wasn't really any in depth world building, I think it was there just enough to create a world that wasn't confusing. That being said, there wasn't enough to make me care about the world at all. 

However, I could have done with a lot of detail on how the magic system worked, a lot more detail on how the political hierarchy worked, and a lot more development into ANY of the relationships that Briar made in this book. 

It was okay. The idea was there, but there wasn't enough detail in any part of the story for me. It just scratched the surface of the relationships, and the queen and the trials. It just didn't feel fleshed out enough for me, and I needed more.