This was an interesting read.

Initially, I found this book a little hard to get into - things just... happen, but you're never really explained what anything is in the world or how it works. What are the Houses? What's the Ninth House? What exactly is this whole system that's going on?

However, things were intriguing enough that I kept chugging along despite having literally no clue what was happening or how anything worked, and about halfway through the book, everything starts falling into place and you really start to feel for the characters and the world. The characters are all well-rounded and likeable (even the assholes), and by the end of the book you just can't help but feel things for the events that transpire in this book, and you'll end up buying the rest of the series for sure.