As usual, Briggs does a great job of bringing out new aspects of her characters in each book. Charles comes off as someone who largely isolates himself from other people, even werewolves that are part of the pack, so it was different to think of him building a friendship with a human like Joseph of all people. I really liked to see a glimpse into the relationships Charles forged before meeting Ana, especially because Charles isn’t much of a people person, so that’s rare. It was also really cool to see a family like the Sani’s that’s so mixed. Hosteen is obviously a werewolf but still keeps in touch with his family’s lineage despite knowing he’ll outlive them all. Well, except Chelsea now. Hosteen was an interesting character despite not being the most likeable. I think it’s mostly because his emotional detachment is a good reflection of the different perspectives immortal creatures and mortal creatures like humans have on things. Hosteen has a big ego and I can tell he is more on the ruthless side than Charles is. Despite Charles’ job as Bran’s executioner, I think he has a lot more compassion than Hosteen. He was a lot more trigger happy about killing Kage’s wife than he should have been in my opinion.
 
I wish that we had seen more of Kage and Chelsea’s relationship. We only get to know Chelsea in her post werewolf phase and she’s still adapting to the change, so she isn’t necessarily herself. Based on what little we did get to see, though, I can tell that they care about each other and love their children. Hopefully we do get to see them more as a couple in future books. I’m sure there will definitely have to be quite a few changes in their relationship now that Chelsea is a werewolf and all. I also liked Maggie and Joseph together because they had so much history that was interwoven with Charles’ backstory. Their deaths were really fitting I  think and I’m glad Charles was able to stay with his friend until the end. 

There wasn’t as much going on in this book as in previous books as far as character growth for Anna, but I also think that has to do with the fact that she is becoming more comfortable with herself and has had time to adapt to her new life both in terms of being a werewolf and a wife to Charles. We did get to see another facet of character growth with Charles when it came to considering being a father. I’m sure it’s something that he never thought he would have to think about. I don’t know why they hadn’t really seen that adoption was an option for them if they wanted to be parents without risking Anna’s life. Considering how Charles’ mother died having him I would think that Anna would better understand why he doesn’t really feel like having biological children is an option. I’m glad that they found a middle ground by the end of the book, but I think it could have definitely been resolved earlier in the plot. We’ll see if they explore more of this parenting thing in the next book.