I read this series (Trudi Canavan - The Black Magician series). I am pretty sure it was your copies I read. I really liked it up to the last 20 pages or so. It felt like she just kind of crapped out at the end. I was looking forward to some epic sh*t.

Lately I have been watching anime series on Netflix view instantly. One is called "Last Exile," it was pretty good. I would rate it 4/5 or so. You may enjoy it.