It sounds like an interesting tale (I so put it on my to read list)! People process and express emotions so differently, so it really makes me want to read it just to see how each user deals with magic and what its toll is on them, not to mention the plot is super intriguing.
The cover art alone makes me want to grab a copy and give it a read, it looks amazing!
Yay! I'm sure the author would also appreciate if you leave a review (even if you end up hating it) - when reading it on Kindle, I left hundreds of comments with my impressions and a few jokes in there :)
Actually pretty excited for part 2 (this should be a trilogy), I started reading thinking "eh, he's a friend - might as well" but got dragged into it a lot more than I expected!
I have a friend who wrote a series of books, and your comment so reminded me of that, lol! I volunteered to read his first book and got sucked in too, but it was totally worth it:) Can't wait to read your friend's story, I will definitely leave a review when I do!