This took a surprising turn, and was much slower paced than the previous two books. I'm so befuddled as to why we spent so much time wrapped up in a Food Network-style restaurant competition instead of the politics of court and war.  While the food competition was entertaining on its own, it felt like a cozy fantasy novel trying to disguise itself behind an epic fantasy novel. When the stakes of the wider world were so high, I was impatient to get back to the action. I think if the food thing has been a separate novella I would have been enamored by it,  but the fact that it took up *so much* of the plot here was a bit frustrating.  Nonetheless,  excited to tackle the final book of the series next and hope it returns to the quality of the first two books.