First and foremost: the weird love/lust for a 7 year old girl. I thought it was just me that was like 'hold up a minute... did I just read what I thought I read...?' But then I perused reviews and found that I was not alone in that ickiness. And even though the male character, Daemon, said "I'll wait until your 17" didn't make the situation any better. Not when it was followed by other descriptors as well.
The next was the ability to follow the story and writing. I tried to let a lot of the writing style slide as it was a debut novel from this author but it did become harder to read. I think mostly because everyone was falling in love with this damned 7 year old girl. Yeah... I can't let that slide. 
It got to the point I was actively avoiding the book. And I enjoy dark fantasy but not quite like that. 
The magic system premise sounded interesting though and I'm a little sad that I'm not going to be seeing that through. I liked the idea of magic strengths and different gems being associated with different abilities. 

DNF'ed at 68%.

I am so disappointed in this book. It had a great start with the worldbuilding, and the way characters were introduced. The author did a good job in showing how dark the book's world is and why Jaenelle is needed to save them, but then it goes nowhere. 68% in and we only just got a scene where Saetan is training Jaenelle when she is 12 and it's a moment of him realizing something that we already knew about many, many chapters ago when she was 7 because he realized it then when they first met. It was a useless scene to me and added nothing new. It didn't feel significant, yet the characters all reacted as if she suddenly did a magnificent feat. They've been with her for 5 years and they are still acting cartoonishly astonished that she's a powerful kid?

My other issue is that the stakes were set to be serious but actions by characters like Saetan doesn't make it feel as if the stakes are actually high enough to worry about. He's been training Jaenelle since she was 7 and at age 12, he does a political move where he HOPES she has learned to understand on her own. It's a damn big political move that would teach her checks and balance, and to not abuse her power against servants. That seems pretty damn important to teach her to make sure she saves them instead of becoming their new tyrant, and yet he didn't teach her it. In the 5 years he's been training her, what the fuck has he been doing all this time to the point where he never even taught her to not abuse her powers, the basics of all things??

They treat her as their revered Queen, but they don't teach her anything that would make her a good one. They're just waiting for her to become of age.

And speaking of Jaenelle becoming of age. Daemon, a man who is over a thousand years old, is in love with her. Before they have met, he's been having dreams of being her lover and in his dreams, she is an adult, but he doesn't know what she looks like (if I remembered correctly). When they finally meet, he is shocked and disgusted at himself to realize he's in love with a 12 year old, and he has a moment where he's having a breakdown at that realization...and then quickly gets over it. He still loves her, but it's her "soul" that he loves and he's waiting for her to become of age. Which is some weak, pathetic grooming mindset a pedo has. Even with him waiting for her to be an adult, he has a moment where he strongly wants to innocently touch her and helps her get on her horse to do so. Just the bottom of her boot in his hands to lift her up onto the horse was enough to stun and soothe that intense feeling, and it made me drop the book. I couldn't read any more when most of the POVs in this book are from Daemon and seeing his love for a 12 year old is disturbing. I don't care about the whole "her soul is what draws him in" bullshit because those around him who knows about Jaenelle's powers are aware of his intentions to be her lover when she's older AND THEY LET IT GO. Saetan, the supposed loving father figure, is perfectly okay with his son Daemon one day becoming Jaenelle's lover. It's all too disturbing.

They haven't taught Jaenelle anything during those 5 years and I get that she's only a kid but they're going to place a huge weight on her shoulders when she turns of age. They could at least prepare her?? But instead, they're just waiting for her to learn things herself.

Also, the sudden rape incest came out of nowhere between Dorothea and her son Kartane, along with Lucivar having either lustful or romantic feelings for his half brother Daemon. The last part was such a useless bit of information, I should've dropped the story there because everything started going downhill from there.

After that scene, Daemon later reveals he can get out of the Ring of Obedience and kill Dorothea, but to do so might (MAYBE in his words) leave his dick damaged and he wants to keep his dick intact for Jaenelle. This was before he even knew she was 12 but it's a thought I'm certain he'll continue to have.

It just doesn't make sense for him to subject himself to hundreds of years of rape and then later reveal he can get himself out from under Dorothea's thumb but doesn't because he doesn't want to risk ruining his dick.

The story went downhill for me, and I couldn't take it anymore. I thought this book was going to be a series I would love dearly and I'm so disappointed.