Straight up objective rating? 3.5 stars. Subjective rating? Somewhere around the same. I need to sleep on a couple things. Either way, it was an entertaining read and I look forward to reading the next installments. Do keep in mind though that the fantasy elements in this novel falls short of the complexities and political schemes I crave in my fantasy stories. Things were a bit to simple. I like it a lot more messy and the morals of "villains"--and hero(ine) for that matter--to be a little more ambiguous and/or complicated. Proper review to come.