How could have I gone on living without ever reading this book? well, I'm glad I listened to my friends and DID read it. It's proven a wonderful, thrilling experience, and the best is that it's the first of a series so when it leaves you wanting for more, you can go and grab the next! Mrs. Flewellyn is a marvelous writer; her characters evolve and grow and are so believable that you can only love them more and more (Alec and Seregil <3). Her fantasy realm is awesome, rather open-minded (concerning sexual orientation and relationships, or women's roles in society for instance); her descriptions superb, the plot very, very interesting. Please don't wait for as long as I did to grab this book!! Don't miss it!