I liked this ... didn't love it, as my friend who recommended it did, as did many GR friends based on their ratings/reviews. The audio is AudibleExclusive, so I bought book 1 during a sale. It's always a bit of a dilemma ... do I buy the whole series while it's on sale, or buy just one book to try before spending additional $$/credits? I have NOT purchased the additional books, so ... while I plan on continuing, I wonder about holding out for a sale, or if I'll forget the story if I wait. Conundrum. I was able to get the ebook from the library. At first I could only find ebook/Libby copies, but then my library also had a Kindle option (which I prefer). The text copy had a map and some reference info that was helpful.

I liked the "Before" ... written in 3rd person, introducing us to the two children (on who is the MC), and a little of the magical world. Chapter 1 switches to 1st person (all past tense), and it's years later as Alina has grown up. Not sure if it was mentioned how old, late teens?

For me ... I never really got sucked into the story or caring that much about the characters. Nothing negative, just no statements that made me want to stop and make notes/highlights. I'm not really sure how well I'd recap the story ... how much storyline there was.  I wonder if it's one that would continue to grow in the series, although I can think of other series that totally captivated me from the start. I peeked at the previews for the Netflix series ... recognized some of the scenes, but there again, it didn't really pull me in and make me want to watch it. 

I figure I'll continue the series, but because I'd have to buy the audio ... I'm not sure.