I had kind of lower expectations for this book based on what I heard about the hype (and the backlash to the hype), but I still wanted to check it out. I ended up loving the characters and the different magic systems and the intrigue. There’s secret societies and competition and moral dilemmas. The ending was a little clunky, but otherwise the plot was engaging and I couldn't wait to see what happens next. The characters really made up for any other missteps - I didn't love all the characters right away, but by the end each of the six characters were intriguing in their own way.
Also it’s a bunch of young hot arrogant people stuck in the same place for a year, so it was fun to watch who was getting together. I really had no idea who was going to hook up (or who was going to kill each other) because they all had amazing chemistry and tension and almost any character could have gotten together with any character. I'll be interested to pick this up again once it's traditionally published and polished.