“Don’t get attached, she chided herself silently. Don’t fall for all that gorgeous, mysterious elf-ness.”

There are mages, elves, and night elves in this world, and these nonhumans have a place in the small Farhall kingdom. A little kingdom that has caught the attention of King Melger. The young mage Leisa is forced travel to the neighboring kingdom, Garimore, disguised as Princess Evaraine. Leisa’s mission was given by her King Soren, to find out Garimore’s King Melger’s plans for the small Farhall kingdom. As Leisa enters the Garimore court, she realizes that her “fiancé” is a playboy with no desire to marry, and King Melger’s plans for the Farhall kingdom are far more insidious.

At the beginning of this story, it appears to be a fantasy spy novel as Leisa is going undercover as Evaraine to figure out the plans of King Melger. The moment that Leisa gets off her carriage, there is a suspicious nature to King Melger, his family, and his assassin, the Raven. The most mysterious element in this story is the Raven, bounded by magic. Once the Raven becomes Leisa’s bodyguard, the connection between them begins to grow.

The main character, Leisa, is a likable character trying her best despite being forced into being a spy. The Raven is truly a fascinating character in this story. As a person bound by magic, the Raven becomes a friend among the liars for Leisa. There are a few chapters from the Raven’s POV that gives insight into the mysterious character. Witnessing the trust that grows between the Raven and Leisa is fantastic. As the story progresses, the Raven becomes less of a soulless assassin to a man hopeful of gaining freedom.

The frustrating part is the story ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it pretty tough to review. There isn’t much character growth with Leisa since we know that she is a challenging and powerful mage. Even as King Melger threatens Leisa, she does not lose face and gains the upper hand. It is a book that is a lovely world builder but does not give the reader enough; hopefully, the second book will help flesh out the Five Kingdoms.