The first gripe is the overuse of the word "mayhap." It is a bit of an archaic word, but it's seen in some fantasy these days, so that was not an issue. The word seemed sprinkled on the page sometimes and it distracted me from the story with its frequent usage.

Loren is a mostly likable character, but I liked Gem more. I wish Loren didn't snap at him so much. I would have liked to have known more about Auntie's backstory and perhaps more about Jordel, but I image I learn more about him in the sequels.

All in all a good read if one can get used to the somewhat stilted dialogue (it wasn't a problem for me, but I see some others having issue with it), and I will end up reading more of the series to see where it goes.