A powerful tale about oppression and fighting it - with magic! I found the writing to be captivating, and the pacing worked well.

The romance subplot was a bit thin and, to be frank, not believable. Inan as a character seemed to be built specifically for the romance plot. The hand wringing and constant agonizing over how his father would take his actions I could take; his turn into a hero and love affair for the protagonist didn't make sense from the point of view of either of the characters, and his betrayal while continuing the hand wringing was just a welcome end to an annoying affair.

There was one thing in the book that really made me raise my eyebrows, though, and not in the good way. It was torture. As a tool for the oppressing regime - and as a tool for the author to highlight the regime's murderous actions against a minority - it's acceptable as part of the tale. But it doesn't end there: also the protagonist uses torture, and whenever people are tortured, the story implies it's an effective way to get information. It's not. It's violence and a violation of basic human rights, and it should be portrayed as such.