There were some elements I liked in this fantasy, but it failed to come together for me the way I hoped. I liked the three brothers, but couldn't quite believe in the world of the Ravenwood city-state. The lengthy political/economic sections were unnecessary and dull. In this political realm that the mayor was so wrapped up in there are dozens of names that had little to do with the plot. These sections were long interruptions that affected the pace of the novel. And there were too many different kinds of monsters. They just kept coming. Three to five kinds of monsters--OK, but enough already.