I really enjoyed this story of love and magic. There was a lot I didn't necessarily see coming from the beginning. Of course it is always a story-line that the orphan who isn't good enough for the princess ends up actually being royalty in some way, but it's nice that the "princess" in this story was really a nice person, and her one time of lashing out and acting above someone had to do with some really heartbreaking news she'd received at that time, from him. The story also showed how a girl had to deal with the prejudices of the males, not only our main character, but even other warriors and young women trying to do what they wanted. While I haven't read any of the other books by this author that are part of this series, it wasn't needed in order to understand and enjoy this story. I am definitely interested in reading other books in the series now, and will be sure to recommend it to my students at my library, as well as customers at the bookstore where I work.