Hmm, I didn't like this as much as the short stories oddly enough. This felt strung out for no reason. Nowhere near enough Geralt. He got 2 scenes in his POV and maybe one other where he was there. Ciri's POV was interesting and well written. But I wasn't expecting all these other people to be telling the story. And not really telling but carrying us along for the ride as if we're in their pockets and can see what they're talking about. Dandelion wasn't so bad. Neither was the opening with all these random people of different races. The worst was the Kings and Queen. Its a slog through politics and war plans that crops up unexpectedly filled with names, titles and locations I know nothing about. So it was confusing. Honestly, after that I was ready to give up on this series. But the scene immediately following which was one of Geralt's and ending section with Ciri and Yennefer redeemed it a bit. This would have been 1 star otherwise. I may be able to get through the next book now that I'm aware of the writing style.