I'm so torn about this book. I almost gave up on it multiple times. The world building was awful, and I had no idea who was who or what was even going on. And there was way too much melodrama. Everyone was always snarling, or grabbing onto tables to steady themselves, or the room blurred or spun, or they were trembling, or finding it hard to swallow, etc. It was just all too much, and made for a really annoying reading experience.

Everything Jaenelle did surprised and scared them, and they couldn't believe she could do it, even though they knew she was powerful and was Witch. I'm still a little unclear on what it means to be Witch, even after finishing the book, but I'm guessing it's like the most powerful person of the Blood. So why were they always so scared of what she could do, to the point where they thought they might have to strangle her? Again, I could sum up the entire reading experience with saying it's too much.

But then, there was something about it that kept me reading. Something that has me wanting to read the second book. Maybe I got used to the over the top writing, and the actual plot is good enough to keep me going. Since this was Anne Bishop's first novel, and I love her Others series, I have to believe that her writing gets progressively better.