I think all of these books have been right on the border of 3 and 4 stars for me, so it was probably time one dipped slightly below. My general thoughts on this series remain the same.

I adore all the characters and relationships. They're really the driving force of the story, despite the high fantasy plot, and they're wonderfully done. Despite the large cast, everyone has such a distinct personality. Even the individual relationships are so well done. MacLeod has me living and dying for these characters, and it's fantastic.

The pacing was more of an issue for me in this book than the last two. With how many characters there are and how much is going on, it really felt like it needed to be longer. There just wasn't enough time for everyone's development. So many things happened off the page, just to be described in dialogue later. And while the characters and their relationships are great, they would be so much better if they had the time to be fully developed. The magic is really cool, but it feels minimally explored because the book is so short. It felt like everything about this book would have been so much better if it'd been slowed down a bit and given a little more time.

But I did really enjoy this series overall. I know there will be more, but I'm not certain yet if I'll continue. I'm not absolutely in love, and this book ended on a satisfying enough note that I would be content with this as a conclusion. But I may change my tune when the next book is published.

I'd highly recommend this if you like character driven fantasy books. It's so cool and original and I've thoroughly enjoyed all three of these books. It's a really fun time.