Turns out, my instincts were correct. Most of the main characters in here were first introduced in one of Kashina’s earlier novels, The First Sword. Information like that should have been made clearer, if only because I may have been more lenient when I was reading this book. This isn’t the first time I’ve jumped in into the middle of a series, or even a spin-off or later novel set in an existing universe without reading the previous books first. The only difference is, all those times I was prepared. Quite honestly, I don’t even know how well this book works as the beginning of a new series. Sure, you can read it and still understand the story, but I spent most of the time feeling like I’ve only scratched the surface, and wondered if so much feels lacking because the author expects you to know these things already.

Hence, polish. I’m afraid the character development needs quite a bit of work, especially if you’re going to have multiple romantic subplots. If I can’t connect to the characters, I’m not going to feel any chemistry, and then it’s not going to matter one whit to me who’s crushing on whom. It helps also, if I can get a good bead on your main protagonists’ approximate ages right away. Not exactly sure why, but the way this was written, I spent the whole intro of the book thinking Prince Kyth was a young child. Even after I realized my mistake, it was difficult to view Kara as his romantic interest, and not a nanny-type figure. 

Needless to say, that was a mood-killer.

For a fantasy novel of this type, there was also nowhere near enough context. By all rights, the story itself should have been quite epic, encompassing a long history and involving several kingdoms hanging in the balance, with conspiracy and corruption threatening to rot the system from the inside out. I knew this, but only because the book told me. I didn’t actually feel it. An overall sense of vastness and importance seems to be missing. Despite the characters traveling for days to get from one place to another, the scope of their journey feels small, possibly stemming from a lack of world building.

My opinions notwithstanding, the reason why I’m not giving this a lower rating is because I feel this book has plenty of potential. I enjoyed the premise and it had a lot of good ideas, especially when it comes to the magic. If only it had been explained a little better. Rigorous editing and several more drafts could have perhaps improved things, knocking out some of the redundant phrases (there seems to be an inordinate amount of blood streaking out of the corner of people’s mouths, for instance — the author likes to use this description everywhere, and even three times in one short scene), or toning down some of the more absurd battle sequences. 

Being over-the-top can sometimes work in your favor, but this is not that kind of novel. At best, this crazy, overly bombastic martial arts stuff comes off as comical. The Diamonds are too powerful, one fighter taking on dozens of enemies at once, and also somehow surviving the most grievous of wounds. I draw the line when a character can miraculously come back from the dead, and the way it happens makes very little sense. There is no perception of danger or tension, not if every close call can be fixed with a quaff from a magical potion or a touch from a healer.

Giving a middling rating for this, because I neither liked it nor particularly disliked it. To summarize, the book has a raw and unfinished feel, and based on that I can’t really recommend it. A shame too, because with some fleshing out and more honing-plus-fine-tuning, this book could have been so much more.