This book has such an enjoyably dark atmosphere and unique magic system. I read the last 75% in one day because I could not put it down! The ending was an excellent setup for the next book.

The reasons I didn't give 5 stars:

Hauth just did not cut it for me as a villain, very one dimensional and predictable. Also, the reveal of the Nightmare's identity was a bit obvious and it seemed like it would have been figured out much earlier by Elspeth.

These were fairly minor but annoyed me quite a bit since the rest of the book was so well done.

I immediately picked up the next book, glad I started this after the sequel was released!