Ahoy there me mateys!  First of all let me start with saying that this book is not the place to start the series.  It has spoilers for the other four books.  When I read the other books, I wanted to know more about the translators.  Now that I have answers, I am not sure I like them.  This may be me and not the book judging by the number of five star ratings.

Basically this book has three POVs that come together.  Enae is a middle age human whose not-so-nice grandmother died.  She is sent off-world on a task to be out of the way.  No one expects her to be part of an inadvertent political disaster.  Qven is a Presger Translator in training.  I did love how the training works.  It is super weird and fun.  Reet is an adopted refugee that just wants a sense of his unknown ancestors and where he came from.  I loved the set-up for this book but once the narratives combine was where I had problems.

The major problem I had with the book is where Reet and Qven's stories converge and how they resolve.  It was too filled with angst.  I didn't like the backstory or mystery of Reet at all.  I didn't want relationship drama. I wanted more of Enae and more of inter-galactic politics.  The (limited) politics, relationships, and mystery elements all seemed resolved too quickly and easily.  I enjoyed the legal questions of the novel but it branches off in the last part of the book into an exploration of Presger abilities that I didn't really care for.  The ending in particular was unsatisfying.

Given how fully I love the other four books of the series, this novel did not live up to them.  The elements that I do love are there but overall this one did not come together for me.  That said, I would read more set in this world.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for a review.