The world is built up across this first volume and is instantly diverse, rich and vibrant in possibilities and history. The witch kingdom of Hyalin is a wonderous place of classic fantasy with a modern feel. Most importantly, it DOESN’T just feel like someones Harry Potter fan-fiction! We have such a diverse cast of characters that represent so much of our interconnected modern world, one of the strongest points for reading this book. We follow Nyneve, a young witch who is about to go through conscription tests at her school to determine who will be joining the Witch Guard, a military force of lawkeepers when not at war. But in a world where the length of your hair determines the strength of your magical potential, Nyneve does not wish to suffer the same fate as her father – a victim of the oppresive Hyalin governments Witch Burnings. I really liked Nyneve as a character, her relationships with her mother and her friends at school were well established and I’m incredibly intrigued as to how they will evolve in the second volume. Without spoilers, there are some big life changes happening for her by the time you reach the end of the first book and seeing how she adapts and changes into this new world will prove very interesting if you enjoy deep character development and introspection over big crazy action scenes. But she also meets some new friends along the way, namely the bird sidekick called (and I’m not joking here) Banana.