My expectations for this book were really low, & while it was only a 3 star for me, it did exceed my expectations. It has its plot holes, the beginning was rather slow, the writing felt choppy at times, and it felt like the same tropey fantasy books I’ve already read a hundred times over, but I had enough fun to rate it 3 stars. It’s no literary masterpiece by any means (& some YA books truly are masterpieces) but I’d say this is a really good place to start for a young (15-18) person new to fantasy/reading. This is akin to YA zodiac academy to me - not great writing, doesn’t always make sense, can be boring at times, but overall a fun enough time.