I think this book stands as my favorite in the series. There are a couple reasons for this. First, I love the romance. I love that Kel gets crushes on a couple different people. It feels realistic for a teenage girl who doesn't always see her crushes for months at a time. They fade and are replaced by others, although none of them control her life or behavior. They're just small aspects of her existence. And then once the real romance happens, it too feels very realistic. She's a sixteen year old with a whole different set of rules than anyone else who can't quite figure out what she wants. It doesn't change her personality or any of her original goals, it just adds a new facet to her life and story.

I also really enjoy her relationship with Raoul, her knight master. All squires are taken by and knight and hers is a minor character from the Alanna series who has honestly become one of my favorite characters in Pierce's Tortall world. Raoul is such a good role model for Kel and just in general, a good dude and interesting person.

One other strong element in this book that continues from the previous books in the series is the heavy focus on politics. From the start, there is more politics in this series than either the Alanna books or the Immortals quartet. But this book really takes it to the next level. Kel deals with leadership, learning more about the King's motivations, changing laws, the general political climate. I like that it's a lot more nuanced than just good people vs bad people. Alanna and Daine were both fighting evil in various forms, but Kel is a lot more about fighting the system, intentionally or not.

And of course, my favorite part has to be the way Pierce includes feminism. Kel's periods are mentioned on a regular basis. Nothing graphic or major, just a casual "oh hey, before I go out on this raiding party, I need to grab a couple pads because my period just started." I literally want more of that in all the books I read. And one of my favorite scenes in this book is when Raoul, 6'6" giant killer and leader of the king's personal army, helps Kel sew rips in her sheets and has tiny, neat stitches. As a kid who'd never seen stereotypically manly men do that in either real life or books, it meant a lot. The book is full of things like that.

I think it still has some of the same pacing problems as Page, but not quite as bad. There are definitely months that are summarized in a list, but it felt a lot more natural in this book. The length also helped in that regard.

Three quarters of the way through this series, I can confidently say that this is my current favorite set in Pierce's Tortall universe. I adore it and would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys mg/ya fantasy.