The Crimson Queen

Great new author and story

The start of an epic story that has mystery, action and magic. Most of the themes will be familiar to epic fantasy readers. Feels familiar to Raymond E Feist's Magician. The world building is very good, the characters are fully fleshed, if a little cookie cutter epic fantasy tropes. Overall a solid and enjoyable story.

It's... Fine

This is an OK example of epic fantasy. If you like the forms of that genre, you'll probably enjoy this enough to finish it, but there's nothing really new or exceptional here.

For me the really felt like a book whose only sources are other - arguably better - fantasy novels, the sort of thing you'd see in people's half-formed homebrew D&D settings. A mishmash of “cool” cultures and tropes, combined with a standard plotline. Which is... fine. Just don't go in expecting something more.