Started out a little slow, but once it got going was very enjoyable.

Sabriel is a very likable main character and the secondary characters are almost equally enjoyable, which is extremely important when you have a book with a cast as small as this one.

The romance seemed somewhat obligatory, but I liked it anyway. A certain suspension of disbelief is required to buy it due to the lack of in-depth exploration, but if you choose to let it in, it's cute as hell. Though, due to the relative lack of focus, you can not care about it and still enjoy the book.

4 stars. Would reread.