Love this series and really enjoyed seeing an expansion of the world we already knew of. 
The addition of a new magic system and whole new set of political relations was really cool. I am always a fan of political intrigue. 
I also really enjoy the different approaches to relationships that all the characters have, and I particularly enjoyed the difference in attitudes regarding sex. It’s really cool to see these topics discussed, however briefly, in YA. 

However I do think the pacing was a little off in this book. Some plot lines were dragged out too much, others not enough. I also think the structure could be improved upon with a multiple POV story because it was not as clear as it could have been. And the switching of the POVs was not always at the best time imo. 

Omg also I’m so confused at who has what skin colour in these books. Maybe I’m just dumb or maybe it’s because of conflicting cover art but I stg some characters were described as very pale and now all of a sudden they have brown skin?? I now just look at fanart and trust the general consensus there haha but ig the character descriptions do confuse me sometimes. 

Overall I still enjoyed it and will pick up the next book when it comes out. Just probably won’t reread this one as much as the others, particularly Graceling and Fire.