I wish there were a .5 star so I could give this 3.5, but because I'm cranky about starting yet another series it's dropping to 3 rather than 4.

The pacing in this seems really off: there's a certain flow to the narrative until the very end (say, within the last 20 pages) and all of a sudden there's a rush to exposition and a real dash towards a cliffhanger ending that'll keep readers interested. If that had been cut in half, leaving that last surprise for the next book, it really would have been ok. Readers that like fantasy and romance will stay with a good series, cliffhanger or no cliffhanger.

Jessica's backstory is teased out in a good way, ditto Sarah's. But Pietr? There are drips and drabs and Big Hints, but that last 20 pages? I hope that the other characters get to play bigger roles in the next book because some of them seemed too interesting to just be wallpapering.

ARC provided by publisher.