I want to premise my review by saying I think the writing was well done for this book. Most of what I don't like about this book is personal preference and should not be taken as a reflection of the quality. Let's jump right into it then.

I wanted to love this book. The whole premise is something I really tend to like. However, although the writing was actually quite good, I did not like most of the story and most of the characters. Let me explain.

*MAJOR SPOILER WARNING*

To start on a positive note, the one character I really did love was Kitay. His humor, curiosity, and support of Rin was important for her and gave me relief in that not everyone in this book ended up being a depressingly sad and angry person. After the massacre he retained his humanity, even though it would have been easy to give in to the baser side of himself. He didn't go along with the genocidal act of Rin exterminating an entire people, he stood his ground in the midst of terrible injustice on both sides of the war. Bravo Kitay.

I also really enjoyed the part of the book before the actual war starts. Rin clawing her way into Sinegard and then overcoming all the obstacles once she got there was great storytelling. It was inspiring to see someone outside of the normal top of the Social ladder become the best of the best at the best school. I wish this part would have been longer.

Now on to the not so good.

I think my biggest problem with this book is the ending. In fact, if there was a different ending I am convinced I would really like this book.

Rin is torn between genocide of an entire race (sans the army) and finding another way to save her people. She goes through with the genocide with the aid of the Phoenix. Not only that, but Qara and Chaghan go and massacre Nikaran citizens to "win" the war. These acts are only explained as being "necessary" to win the war. That's all we get. There is no consideration of other options. There is not even much consideration of trying to find another solution. The logic is basically, Altan is the man, a Speerly, and he is the strongest of us so he must be right. This was frustrating for me in that how am I supposed to root for main characters who would commit these atrocious acts so easily, so carelessly? The only other reason for doing this is revenge which in my opinion is a hollow, worthless, and wholly selfish reason. Although, I can understand where they are coming from, I cannot for the life of me root for characters who are so inhuman as to condone genocide.

One other frustration I had with this book is the lack of detail for the plot. I felt that I never knew enough. The magic system, as well as the history could have been much better explained and would have helped the story greatly.

I really wanted to love this book, but I can't.