Format: Print/eBook combined 

The first thing to say about this is that it starts slowly. There is a lot of information in the early pages to help us understand the world, and while this is important, it did feel like there wasn’t much plot as a result. After the 30+ page epilogue I will admit to being concerned that I’d be dnfing this very early on. 

We follow two main characters – Kel an orphan who looks remarkably similar to the crown prince and is brought to court as a child to be his Sword Catcher (basically protector and stand in if required), and Lin, a physician and member of the Ashkar (a small community who retain some magical power and by law are restricted to living within a set area). These two characters don’t actually meet until a significant way through the book, and it does feel like we are reading two separate stories until this point, although once they do meet, their connections grows and their lives become intertwined very quickly. I really liked Kel as a character in particular – he was well fleshed out and I think Clare did an amazing job of showing us his internal conflicts and decisions in a way that we truly understood his character. 

Outside of Lin and Kel, we are introduced to a whole host of supporting characters, which could be a bit confusing at times (particularly the twelve charter families – I finished this morning and I can only name one house and charter). I would perhaps have liked to see fewer but explored in more depth – particularly Prince Conor and the Ragpicker King (although given this is the title of book 2, I do hope we will see more of him in the next book). 

Once we got through the initial slowness as we were introduced to the world, this really did pick up. There was a lot going on and while some elements reached a satisfying conclusion (or at least a conclusion even if not satisfying) there are still so many mysteries I am looking forward to unpicking in the next book. And there was nothing slow about the ending – the tension and action really increased and it will be interesting to see the aftermath. I am very much looking forward to seeing what comes next for these characters/in this world. A very solid 4 stars after getting through the beginning.