So this book was alternatingly really awesome and sub-par. I loved Bess, the character, her stories and the time periods they were in, and how the story as a whole was constructed. I particularly think the story about Bess's family was the most well defined and best created (character and story wise). Also the writing was well paced and kept me interested and moving through the story. But on the flip side, the same elements that kept showing up (understandably so, since the book was written in a cycle) just weren't portrayed the best that they could have been. Bess's suspicion and need to be loved played against each other too predictably and just seemed flat. Tegan was great plot construction but in the end I didn't understand why she was necessary at all. What Elizabeth did to defeat Gideon could have been done without Tegan. And so the gravity of the end was really lightened. All in all, it was a nice light read, but it won't be something that sticks with me long.