I am a fan of Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy and was hoping this would be in the same vein. Unfortunately, this one did not grip me the way the books in that trilogy did. I think my disappointed is linked more to the fact that neither character ended where I wanted them to by the end of the book. A book that manages to surprise me is always a welcome change.
It is hard to talk about this book without spoilers so I'll have to be vague. Tyen, a student of magic unearths a magical book - similar to Tom Riddle's diary. His decision to protect the book leads him into more danger and an adventure then he had bargained for. Rielle, beautiful and talented attracts the wrong kind of attention and becomes a victim of the corrupted and powerful religious faction of her society. These two characters are tied together with their discoveries of magic and how it functions in their world.
This is very much a first book of a series, meaning most of the book is dedicated to world building. The first half is quite slow but the pay off at the end is totally worth it. That said, I loved the idea of magic being a by-product of creativity. It is a beautiful way to set up a world. I really enjoyed seeing both Rielle and Tyen grow as characters as they are pushed past their limits. There are some good twists near the end and I can sort of see where Canavan plans to take the next two books in the series. Can't wait!
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