Technically, this one is a 3.5. Come on Goodreads...give me the option of half stars! While I enjoyed the series and I did like the story, the more "romantic" bits of this one felt far too contrived and awkward. I found myself mildly irritated by that since I liked the storyline between Ceony and Emery. I suppose it just felt a bit overly childish. The movement of the remainder of the story was good though. Holmberg does well with action sequences and she does tend to have a very vivid imagination. Things are not always as predictable as they would seem. I appreciate that. I enjoyed the series enough that I will be looking into a couple of her other novels.