City of Mages

A great debut novel with some interesting concepts into the heavily saturated magical genre. 

While it was slow to start, some world-building holding us in place while everything was set up, soon the whole thing came together in an amazing and difficult to put down way. I loved most of the characters, with a few that made my lips curl in disgust whenever they were in a scene. Seeing the two sides in the ongoing war and their perspective of it added together very nicely. You couldn't help but root for a specific side, especially after the introduction into their world. 

It was a bit frustrating to see the reactions of the two main characters, but with the knowledge that I have now after reading, it was understandable that they acted the way they were. While I prefer Alara over Quenti initially, they both developed in their own ways as the story went on. I hope to see more of them both in the future.

Were some bits predictable? Yes. Did I care about that? Nope. 
Do I hope that two of the characters meet an enemies-to-lovers trope? Yes.
Did I enjoy this book? Definitely. Am I looking for the sequel? Absolutely.