I debated if I should give it 5 stars, but in the end it was more like a 4. I did really enjoy the book, it just wasn't perfect.
The world itself is interesting. You get the sense right from the beginning that all is not right with the picture portrayed by the dominant people, and that only becomes more obvious as things progress. What I found really interesting about the world was the description of fanatism and religious brainwashing, which are in interest of mine. The world itself is pretty small. We learn about two cities and the path between them, and not really a lot about anything else. It does keep thing streamlined and leave space for further exploration.
There are two POV characters, Kyla and Marlowe. They're very different people, and not just because one is a guy and the other one is a woman. Their narrative voice is different too, so that was well done. I found Kyla's story a bit more interesting in this book, but things were just amping up for Marlowe at the end, so this will probably be a bit different. I think we do get more chapters with Kyla, so that was actually a good thing, since not a lot happened to Marlowe.
Now let's talk about the story. The story itself is rather simple. There is a hint of something more complex going on in the background, but this isn't a very long book. So this portion of the story is mostly straight-forward. There is a lot of foreshadowing for future books. I don't want to spoil anything, but it is farely obvious that by the end of the book the two main characters meet. As for predictability, I did guess a lot, though nothing totally specific. So it was still enjoyable.
Overall, a grea start, but it definitely feels like a start. I'm so glad all three books are out now, because I'm going to gobble these up.
