I have very mixed reactions to this book. On the positive side, I did basically like and could mostly relate to the main character, Ariane. She's grieving, has two sisters depending on her, and she deeply feels her responsibilities. I even, for the most part, liked the hero and the setting (I do enjoy historical settings with a bit of fantasy mixed in, at least a lot of the time).

That said, even when I could understand the reasons some of the characters did things they did, and most of the time I could understand, I would get so annoyed at their stupidity, naivete, and/or lack of insight that I wanted to shake some sense into them. I'd get sufficiently irritated that it would take me out of the story.

I did finish the book, although I was tempted not to, because I liked the characters enough to want to know what happened. I don't know if I will read any of the other books in the series or not. I might try the second one, at least, because I did like Gabrielle as a character. But I think I'll give myself a break from this series and read a few other things first.