Mrs. Tinsley is an excellent writer: the wordbuilding, the atmosphere and the background are all amazingly well built; and the characters are all well-done and feel alive.
On the other hand, she is a mediocre storyteller at best: this is a book without an arch-plot, or otherwise said a book of many side-quests, but lacking a proper main-quest.
Therefore a fascinating read, but never a captivating one: there is no good story to fill that great world and move those good characters towards something epic or at least very significant.
I also was very, very annoyed by the choice regarding the main antagonist (and his unjustified, heavy-handedly done and sudden turn-about at the middle of the story), but that might be a matter of taste - some reviewers liked it, some, like me, loathed it.
Still, I will read the next book in the series when I get it. ( )