This book was a good concept, very typically YA with randomly capitalized nouns like “Trials” and “Courts.” There were some things I liked and a lot of things I didn’t like:

👍 Good things:
- The idea of powers being earned, and the way you solve a trial corresponding to the power you get
- the politics of the world

👎 Bad things:
- Little to no description of the environment or world. I never knew anything about the environment other than “in a room” or “outside,” and we find out nothing about what Lysta’s life was like before the book starts. We know she was on the streets and that’s it, no flashbacks or anything. 
- Very trope-y plot twist at the end, a Hans-esque betrayal. 
- THE EDITING. This NEEDED an editor; there were so many grammatical and spelling errors I felt like I was reading a middle schooler’s project. 
- The characters were all flat, Lysta was a pick-me, and the characters were always doing things inconsistent with their personality they showed before 
- It makes literally no sense that Drytas wanted everyone trialed because that makes people stronger. You want people weak so they don’t rebel. Very pointless and no good motivations for anyone
- The world building was exceptionally vague and undescriptive. I was left with so many questions that were quite important. 

Overall decent but I doubt I’ll continue to read these. I’m also giving the author grace because she seems young and has a lot of potential.