This definitely fell prey to a lot of YA fantasy tropes, but hey, I don't mind a lot of tropes of the genre. I did like the clever device of concealing which man was the prince and which the assassin; I knew from reviews that this device was used, but nevertheless, it kept me guessing (and second-guessing) about their identities.
However, I can't say I got totally sucked into this world or these characters; something about the writing felt flat, and the whole thing felt very "typical YA fantasy" to me. Lia was what you'd probably expect from a YA fantasy heroine -- gutsy, a tad impetuous at times, compassionate, independent... and dancing on the edge of being a "Mary Sue". Of course, both of the male leads fell for her (who didn't see that coming?) and a sort-of (but was it really?) love triangle ensued. The romance didn't do much for me, although this could be partly because of the whole uncertain-identities issue that kept me from really rooting for Lia to get together with either of the guys.
I also wanted a lot more from the world building and mythology; it's doled out in dribs and drabs that didn't coalesce as a coherent whole for me. I'm still puzzled over what the "Remnant" are (and that word is in the name of the series, so...) Everything about the mythology was kept quite vague, and I do hope more specifics are provided in the sequel.
Points for including a map, though! That was actually helpful for me to refer to in following Lia's journey.
3.5 shooting stars.
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