** spoiler alert ** I loved this book. I thought the plot was fantastic and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed the fact that the characters tell the story from their different points of view, because it allows the reader to really hear their individual voices.

I thought the relationship between Hal and Royston, though fairly slow to progress and very chastely described, was beautiful in an old-fashion-romance sort of way. I don't know how else to describe it, because it made me think of courtly romances. It was different and following the progression of it was enjoyable - though the m/m romance fan in me was left wanting more.

The twist in the relationship between Thom and Rook was great, I thought, because even I didn't suspect it. The irony between what they really were to each other and Rook's past actions were not lost on me. Though Rook was a huge jerk after the fact - well, until the end. So, Thom really did end up changing him.

The ending was satisfying, I felt. Though, I wondered what happened to the supposed ally nation. Maybe I missed something and they stayed out of the final acts of war because of Royston's and Rook's actions. I also wonder how it took so long to figure out that they had to kill the Ke-Han magicians. That seemed pretty obvious to me as soon as the cause of the magical illness was described.

But those were the only questions I had, and they are only minor things. Nothing really stood out as bothersome to me in this book. Jones and Bennett did a great job writing it, and I can't wait to read the sequel.