I don't know what I expected going into this reread, but this book turned out to be my favorite of the whole series. This was a bit surprising since I don't have any particular memories about this book and Daja herself has never been my first choice (I'm a bit partial to Sandry's narration), but both of her books in the first two quartets were my favorites.

I think this book was just more well crafted than the other three. The friendships Daja made grew and developed throughout the story better than the new characters in any of the other three books. I really cared for her students and Ben, and I'm always partial to Frostpine. I also enjoyed the mystery/crime element. It exists to a degree in all these books, but I think it was explored best here. You know from the beginning who the arsonist is, but it doesn't affect the intrigue.

I liked the setting. The others have been set in different countries and cultures as well, but I felt like both Briar's and Tris's books were a little bit othering in regards to the natives of those countries. It felt like there was a fair amount of criticism from an outsider. In this book, there was none of that. Daja didn't necessarily agree with everything in the culture, but it seemed much better handled and explored. It didn't seem nearly as othering.

Just overall, I enjoyed this book so much more than any of the others and I'm very grateful to have a book in this series that I loved.