I am so disappointed.

This book has been on my “READ ME NOW” list for months. That’s a step up from my “read me next” list, you know. I really don’t remember what made me so interested in it, though the premise is certainly intriguing – 8 sisters, father dies, now they’re poor so 2 of the sisters are sold – one to a “keiso house,” and the other as a mage’s apprentice. Now that sounds kinda cool, right? Well don’t get too excited – this book is not about that.

Or rather, maybe the first chapter is about that. All that stuff happens in the first few pages, and is followed by pages and pages and pages of boring descriptions, made-up philosophy, history of the country complete with political stuff and wars, and confusing magic systems.

Here are my problems.

1) I cannot figure out what this world is supposed to be! I wasn’t really expecting a fantasy world (and I should’ve, since mages are mentioned right on the back cover. Most of the story flows along in a middle-grade fairy tale tone – you know, clean and cheerful and generic. The world is kind of Asian, with the geisha-like keiso and all. There are dragons, and mages, and an entirely different form of magic named bardic sorcery, which seems to involve playing music to make magic.

2) It’s BORING. Nothing has really happened since the selling of the sisters of the first few pages. Seems like I’m saying that about every book I read lately…

3) My biggest problem is that the book isn’t even really about the sisters! It goes like this:

• Chapter from the mage sister’s point of view (boring, lots of descriptions of the philosophy of the magic system, she struggles to light a candle with magic and drones on about the difference between lighting it with warmth and lighting it with light. Yawn.)
• SUPER LONG chapter from this dude named Taudde’s point of view, he’s some sort of spy from an enemy country? He’s one of the bardic sorcerers, and I don’t care about him at ALL.
• Chapter about the keiso house from the point of view of a former keiso who works there (interesting, I wish the book was just about this/her).
• Repeat.

And throughout, there’s a plot to kill the prince, who is falling in love with the keiso sister. And I feel like I’m supposed to really be wondering why they would want to kill this nice young prince, and why the mage-sister’s seemingly nice master mage guy is involved in the plot…but I am not. I don’t care. I made it through 52% of the book on my Kindle, and I am DONE.

Anyone else read this book? Am I missing out by not reading the last 48%???