I thought this was well done for what it was. This book is very different from Abercrombie's First Law, but it had a charm of its own. It had a similar vibe to the Gobin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Yet less cozy and more action. I wouldn't call it "YA." I thought it was more of a classical fantasy with a young protagonist. The only real "YA" part was the love interest. That felt forced and inconsequential. Other than that I not really sure the YA label works here. 

Overall, I thought this was a fine read. I am interested to know where the next book will go. However, I'm not fully committed to completing this series. I didn't entirely click with it, so I'll just have to see how I feel after book two.