This book was long. Literally, at 633 pages, but it also felt long to read. It was very slow for pretty much the entire book, with a few faster-paced scenes here and there, but mostly, this book felt like a set-up. It was a bit annoying since it's the middle book in a series and the second was very action-packed and faster-paced, but this book has to bridge that first one and the His Dark Mayerials trilogy. So it took a more informative, slow build route. It wouldn't have been a problem if the book was over 600 pages long and took about five hundred to get really interesting. I guess one could argue something about the pacing being a representation of Lyra's awareness or something similar to those lines as she was very passive in the beginning. However, it didn't make the read any better while I was reading. I can't wait for the third book though and that's really my only criticism.

I loved getting Lyra back. I could practically hear her talking through her speech pattern in Dakota Blue Richard's voice. It's really nice to have her back. And Pan and all of them. I do love how the author tied the two works together.