I picked up the audiobook just because Moira Quirk narrated it. I didn't realize until after I began (without looking at the synopsis or anything) that it was by the same author as Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, and wow these books are quite different. In that book it felt like things just kind of happened to some fairly bland characters, and the character reactions seemed overblown, but this book is all about the people and the people are complicated. 

The chapters jump all over the place in chronological order for maximum character development impact. Just barely after getting a sense of who the characters are in the present, you dive back to the past to see what external factors shaped their internal structure which leads to the decisions they make that flow directly into their present problems. Everyone is a little bit messy and misguided, but you can see exactly why and hope that they will grow enough to dig themselves out of the holes they've dug. 

So, yeah, I really enjoyed all the character work and I was very impressed by how rounded and consistent it was. That was great, and for me that was the main draw to keep reading even though the magical plot was also pretty cool and suspenseful.