I would probably give this 3.5 stars. Honestly, I preferred the sequels to the first book in this series. It is very slow to start, and the lack of background of the characters makes it hard to really root for them and be attached. But once the action starts to pick up, it is entertaining. And wanting to know what is going on overrides the lack of character development. Although I would not call this book amazing or fantastic, it was good enough to make me read the second and third installments in the series, so that says something.