This is going to be exactly the kind of alternate universe I LOVE.

In just a few introductory pages, this book has already gripped me. I can tell it's going to have a great alternate universe with complex politics, a rich history, and round characters. I feel like I've just GOT to know more about Queen Rielle; I sense that she's good, but in the introduction, something has obviously led her down a path that seems (at first glance) bad.