I don’t give out five star ratings lightly. I feel like this book especially is asking me to rate it lower because the ending is very unsatisfying (apparently we will have to wait for the second book for an actual ending, which is very annoying). It also lacks the exploration of themes I usually need to rate a book highly. But I’m still going to give it all the stars. Why? Basic competency, I guess? First of all, the world is highly unique. While religion plays a large part, it’s all inherited through family, clans, and other social structures so it feels much more meaningful than I’ve seen in other books. There is magic but there’s never a moment where it’s used solely as spectacle. It’s use is purposeful and not taken lightly. Every character has clear motivations, the relationships between them feel real and earned, and no one comes across as evil for the sake of being evil. It’s just... very well done. I won’t be recommending it until there are more books as the not-ending is very frustrating, but everything else about this book makes me wish I could recommend it to literally everyone, even people who aren’t usually interested in fantasy. So yeah... still five stars. Haha.