Solid 4 stars. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although I often found myself both annoyed by and cheering on the heroine within the span of a few pages. I can really dig a strong woman who is self-sufficient and independent, who overcomes seemingly incredible odds --- but it annoys me to no end when people make poor decisions based entirely out of fear. With that said, the good parts far outnumbered and outweighed the annoying parts, so I will definitely be partaking in the sequel. My guess (and my hope) is that the annoying parts of this first book will not be present for the second.