They didn't do a great job of trying to make Dara a likable character, Ali's initial chapters were super slow & it took me a long time to get a concept of the world & political structure. The book overall was good, it was justified very slow but I am interested enough to keep reading the rest of the series. I like Nahri as a character & liked the relationship she built w/ Alli & there a decent amount of foreshadowing & mystery to keep me curious about the rest of the story, it just felt like a set up for the rest of the series.