The cover is beautiful, though it did bring Malorie Blackman's 'Chasing the Stars' to mind instantly - if this lives up to that novel then great, but I did find myself comparing them... The first paragraph is brilliant, intriguing, I wanted to know more. The next 2 pages were a let down though. There was so much information that it bored me. Pure exposition that could have been edited out and fed in along the way. Once it does get going and we're in the midst of battle I thought it was great and I'd hope the novel continues in this vein rather than boring us with pages of backstory!