This was a wonderful birthday present from my friend Abi. She’s the one that got me into reading fantasy, and I don’t think she’s ever suggested a book I haven’t loved.

I found that this book started off a little slow, there was a lot of time spent building up the back-story and getting slowly into the action. But once it kicked off, it kicked off good!

I loved the character of Asher, elevated from a lowly Olken fisherman to the assistant to the Doranen prince. But far from being big-headed, he remains humble, and even finds the attention tiresome at times. He had promised himself that he’d only stay a year in the capital before returning back to his father and brothers on the coast, but things don’t go exactly to plan.

Talking of plans, Asher is completely unaware of the plans for his life. Dathne, the heir of Jervale, has had visions of Asher’s future, and although he may not know it yet, he’s going to play a big part in the coming days of Lur.

Weirdly, my favourite part of the book was the end, although if I hadn’t already got the second book, I don’t think I’d be saying that! I never in a million years would have guessed that the book would end like it did. I was sat at my desk at work, and as I turned to the last page, my jaw dropped and I just sat staring at the page in disbelief.

I have a feeling that I’ll be reading the second book much quicker than the first, the action is just about to begin in earnest!