This book was so different from Pierce's other Circle Universe books and honestly I think it's due to the minor gods and goddesses/magical creatures. I really felt, for a small moment, that I was back in Tortall with Daine or Kel, and it felt SO GOOD!

The first half of this book was kind of slow. I just didn't feel drawn in, which is probably because I read The Will of the Empress first. I DON'T RECOMMEND DOING THAT! Read Battle Magic first and then TWOTE, that way you won't be spoiled a little for what happens in BM. I found that because I read TWOTE first, I was just sitting there reading and waiting for stuff to happen that was mentioned in TWOTE, and I think that's why the first half was so slow.

One thing I loved about this book was seeing more of Briar's teacher, Rosethorn! Actually being able to read what she was thinking and going through was so interesting and different from the other books. Also, she plays a huge role in BM and I really enjoyed that. I hope, that at some point, Tamora Pierce will write a book through Lark's perspective!

Another thing I loved about this book was the focus on how war affects people. The exhaustion, the guilt, the thirst for revenge, the fear, the hope, the anger...everything! It definitely explained Briar's dreams in TWOTE a lot more. I really want to see more of how Evvy copes after what happened, which I hope will be talked about in Melting Stones.

There's a lot of travelling/marching and stopping to rest in this book, which kind of slowed things down in between battles. Briar actually mentions that in the book, too :) It did make things move a lot slower and since I had read TWOTE, it just made me impatient to get to what would happen next.

The ending was perfect, as usual and I'm excited to pick up Melting Stones next! Briar is literally my book boyfriend, so I hope he's in MS because I need more of him!