“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Maybe 2.5, because I skimmed the first quarter pages or so, but then it got interesting. The concept lacked some development and I found the token 'exoticism' of the setting annoying. I did like that the heroine didn't take any of the 'I'm pushing you away for your safety' BS.