At some point, probably after I read A Dark And Drowning Tide, I need to decide this author's books just aren't for me. This book had the hints of an interesting world, and a great cast of characters, but was bogged down by a weak plot and a hevay focus on a romance I just wasn't invested in.

Niamh is Machlish, which I presume here is fantasy Irish, and there's an ongoing protest outside the castle walls for whatever it is the Royals are doing. I didn't feel the story really cared to go into much depth about that, and I ended up feeling disappointed that Niamh's family stayed as mentioned background characters throughout.

I guessed the mysterious Gossip Girl style column writer within 30 pages, and I can't feel smug about that because they were just so blindingly obvious. They even talked the same as the writer. I felt the ending scenes were quite frankly ridiculous, and this story overall strongly reminded me of The Selection.