Shara's Mary-Sue-ish aspects are finally starting to affect my enjoyment of the story. They diminish the satisfaction of her achievements when she never truly struggles to reach them or face any consequences (like the cop-out at the end of this book from an agreement she made in a prior one). I enjoy the story more when it focuses on the fun character interactions rather than the plot, given that there's no interest there since she always succeeds at everything.

I'm confused and annoyed by the hypocrisy of Shara saying she's a "jealous" queen and doesn't want her men to so much as brush against her women (to the point that the author details characters' movements to make sure the reader knows there's NO TOUCHY), but Shara is fine with the men being all over each other. She's not jealous, she's just drawing a nonsensical line between genders.

I liked the reversal of the "light vs dark" trope with the darkness needing to overcome the light. I adore Shara's connections with and respect for animals like the birds in previous books and the rats in this one. Carys and Winnie are delightful and I hope they show up a lot in the next books. ( )