Heh, my other Kate Elliott experience was with Crown of Stars, which I really really liked actually and had fantastic worldbuilding, but it dragged a lot somewhere in the middle. (I seem to remember there was a... time travel sequence?? it was weird.) So YA is sounding like it might be a bit better from that perspective? :)

ALSO I WAS SO ANNOYED AT NEVER FINDING OUT WHAT THE DEAL WAS WITH ALAIN, so annoyed that years later it brings out all the capital letters in me. :)