For the first half of this book I was totally enchanted. I loved Leta who takes self-sacrifice a little too seriously in her quest to keep her brother safe. I was enthralled with the creepy setting and the dark mystery at its center. I was also half in love with the brooding, tortured hero and ready for his redemption. Then things stalled a bit and got increasingly repetitive. The side characters never got more developed. We just got pages and pages about the corruption and how to get rid of it which was not really all that interesting. I would have really liked more about the magic system and world building overall. I would have really liked more intrigue and less failed magic experiments. The connection between Leta and Rowan was well written and kept me interested but not enough for me to be sure to pick up the sequel. Overall this book was not for me.