My heart is utterly broken.

I can see why some readers struggled with this book. The pacing is definitely not for everyone, but other than an impatience at the beginning to meet River Shara, I had no qualms with the pacing, characters, or events. It’s definitely a slower pace than most YA fantasy books of today, but if you can read older fantasy like Lord of the Rings, you’ll have no issue with the pacing of this book.

This book was beautifully written. It was rich with culture and setting. I loved the story, I loved the Tibetan culture and landscape. This book was a magical fantasy story that has me immediately grabbing the second book, not only to see how the story ends but for more of everything.