This is the penultimate book in the A Chorus of Dragons series, and it feels like it. There's a lot of positioning happening, pieces seeming to be laid ready for the final book. The downside of that is that it does feel less strong as a book in its own right than the rest of the series. I certainly enjoyed it, but it is my least favourite to date. 

Every book in the series has been narrated in a different way by different people, and they generally tell the story across two or more time periods. The specific way the House of Always does this was at times a little frustrating for me - the constant changing between times and perspectives was a bit jarring especially early on. I was warned by a friend that the book can be quite repetitive and again I think that ties to the narration style. I don't dislike the way it is told but I don't think it works as well as the previous books. 

The biggest strength of this volume is the characters. Four books into the arc I'm heavily invested in multiple characters, and many of them underwent key development in the course of the book. 

The ending left me desperate to read the final book in the series, and I don't think I'm going to wait to do so.