Celaena, now going by her real name, is back in Rifthold, but without her magic or Rowan. And that's not even the worst of it.

It felt like Maas got a much better handle this book on twining together the different narratives -- Manon's story was more compelling this time around and didn't feel quite so much like a word count boost. The characters all feel so grown up in this book compared to where they started, as they try to move forward while dealing with scars that will never truly fade.

The ending was incredible and I cried like three times.