Seeing as we're obsessively comparing everything to Martin (I DO SWEAR THESE CORNFLAKES ARE FIT FOR A KING»S
LANDING WEDDING FEAST), then the young age of the book's main protagonists gives the book a YA feel, though clearly aimed at an older audience (I suspect teen fantasy fans will eat this up, though) which, I think, is how both books maintain the sense of pacey adventure and epic scale.