In some ways, I am still surprised every time I pick up a new Tamora Pierce book. I keep expecting to get the same style of writing in Song of the Lioness and, like most authors, she does not remain stagnant.

I say this because Mastiff feels like more of a break than usual from her earlier works. Overall, this series has been very different (and, unlike the Daughter of the Lioness duology, quite good), but the pacing still felt a bit off to me. I kept waiting for things to happen that took an appallingly long time to occur.

That being said, I have like Beka Cooper from the beginning and I really do think this trilogy is a welcome addition to the Tortallan stories. Other than pacing, my one quibble is with character. Someone behaves a certain way and it was jarringly out of character to me. Which is odd, because Pierce is usually really REALLY good with characters in character. So this slip was doubly disappointing.

Realistically, if you've made it this far with Pierce's books, you'll appreciate Mastiff. It's a master storyteller doing what she does best.