I took a bit of a break between this book and the second in the trilogy, so perhaps that explains why I was a bit irritated with it, particularly in the beginning. Ashlind’s internal monologues struck me as being rather info-dumpish, not to mention clumsy and melodramatic. The dialogue seemed very stilted and about as far from reality as you could get. And if I read the word “pleached” or “plashed” one more time I might have done something drastic. There was definitely an overabundance of description, as there has been throughout the entire series.

I’m afraid I can’t really say more without spoilers, so those who intend to read this and like to be surprised should stop reading here.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I found the holes in Ashlind’s memory to be very convienient. Neither did Thorn’s identity come as any great surprise.

And as for the ending… well, I guess I felt that the Epilogue greatly weakened it. It was as if the author couldn’t decide which ending she really wanted, and so had to see-saw between them without really commiting to either. In some respects I can understand this, as the hopeless romantic in me wished for the one ending my more cynical side would have derided.

I felt very much that the Edward strand should have been more fully developed and earlier on.

All in all, it left me feeling vaguely disappointed.