A coherent magic system. The two main characters are relatable.
The story progresses pretty well, with some exceptions. The only real issue I have is that as the story progresses the main characters lose more and more of their free agency, through what feel like contrived situations. Given that this was built up quite a bit by the end of the book, I did not continue to the next book. Because, if I had to guess, things are even more jerked around in the second book.