Overall I enjoyed this book. Specifically, the fact that you never know who to trust and of course the wonderful griffon, Caela. While the plot and (usually) the characters kept me interested and reading I was distracted by how unnatural I felt the relationship between Nic and Aurelia was at times, the author used an unfortunate factor of telling and not simply showing too often, at times I felt the subject of the sister was entirely forgotten then brought back up suddenly out of nowhere and possibly because of the telling and not showing factor the twists didn't hit as hard as they could have. Despite these flaws, I do plan to continue on with the series because of my curiosity in what she will do with the magic in this old place that she has breathed fresh life into, and also...the griffon.