I finally feel like one of the books in this quartet hit what I wanted. This book also has a big disaster the four kids must fight (forest fires), but unlike in the other books, it doesn't take over the whole story. Their teachers aren't saying we don't have time to teach you because of xyz thing. The forest fires are constantly going on, but also don't affect them directly for a lot of the book.

Because we're not focused on that, it actually gives them time to develop their relationships and their magic a bit. It feels like for so much of this book you actually get to see Daja's feelings about her own life, instead of just feelings on forest fires or pirates. There's a lot of dealing with her being exiled by her people, Traders, and missing the old life she used to have.

The kids are also starting to get a few parameters for their magic, which is something that I didn't realize was lacking until this book. There's still kind of a sense that they can do anything with magic, which limits believability and consequences to a degree, but they're starting to learn their limits and starting to learn control.

So far, this is my favorite of the series. I'm glad to read one that better than okay, that I was actually excited to pick up and get through.