Love, love, love the characters Ms. Snyder creates. The old favorites in this one make for a fun read. The view into the assassin training and Valek's backstory was also intriguing. New characters are also very interesting. The plot to this one seemed a little slower pace than prior volumes in the study series though. I can tell it's building and the next ones will be great to read, but I don't like the idea that an author goes into a book knowing that it will not provide a complete story. Thereby pushing the reader to purchase the next one in the series. If it weren't for the slower pacing and the entrapment, the book would receive a much higher score. As it is, I wish I waited for her to finish her trilogy before starting this one! ( )

It has been a few years since I read the first three books in this series, but I was immediately sucked back in. I didn't remember everything that had happened in those books, but I didn't need to. The characters came back to me right away and it was like I had just read the previous books. There were times where Maria had to put in information on the backstory but it was just enough to refresh my memory without being overbearing. It didn't take long for me to finish this book, as the story moved quickly and had lots of action.

All in all, this is a great addition to the series. It has everything you've come to love in these novels. ( )

Not as interesting as the other books in this world. Might just be that I'm losing interest, after multiple trilogies in this world I think I've had enough. ( )

I love Maria V. Snyder and I'm obsessed with Yelena and Valek so it saddens me to say I was slightly disappointed by this book. It was not bad it just was not as good as I wanted it to be. ( )

Not nearly as good as the previous trilogy, but not so bad that I feel justified in 1 or 2 stars. Perhaps that's because the last few 1 and 2 star ratings were such clunkers, this enjoys a little boost.

What worked for me:
-Multiple/different POVs. I didn't mind that some were in first and some were in third person. I'm flexible, and it helped keep their voices distinct.
-The relationship between the main characters is mature. They are in love, but understand that their jobs and their partner's jobs require their attention. They miss each other without being resentful or emo. They support each other. There isn't any self-manufactured drama of "I bet he's cheating while he's away" or "If he won't quit his job for me he must not love me" or "why won't he settle down and commit?" They are just...grown ups. And holy shit is that rare.
-I like seeing a character who has been steadily growing in power to lose it for a while. It ups the ante and adds more uncertainly, and forces the character to be creative.

What didn't work for me:
-Apparently I should have read Ice Study before this. I'm not a huge fan of apparently big plot events occurring in short side stories. It's like if Harry Potter found one of the Horcruxes in Pottermore.
-Yelana didn't feel like she did much in the story; she lacked the agency of the previous novels
-I didn't mind Valek's flashbacks, but they felt shoehorned in. Just slap a line break and some tildes in there and jump to the flashback, You don't need to arrange these weird things to remind him.
-The reveals were very, very obvious. I have to say that all the drugs, beatings, hard riding, scavenging for food, magical attacks, etc. is probably not good for the fetus. ( )