Once again a slow, atmospheric start that builds to an action packed and emotionally charged end. I wasn't expecting the bad guy to be what he was. That was well written. All the politics as well as the relationships were done well. There seemed no good choice to make. Things were tied up nicely though that not the best thing. The stakes were all very high for multiple characters and then suddenly and simply they were solved.

That being said I enjoyed this book more since Vasiya is moving around, going places, and doing more in this one. There's less of the sexism but there's an obvious reason why. That's not to say it doesn't exist. But its feels less forced in this book. Therefore making certain scenes more poignant. Vasiya is growing up and learning as her siblings have that the world has certain rules it wants you to follow and its hard to find happiness and even survival if you don't follow.

On a personal note I really can only read/listen to this series when its cold out. Part of my reason for putting it down for so long. The other part was the wait time for the audio book.