** spoiler alert ** *read with the tandem read*
This book was a fabulous way to get to know the characters more individually and as a group. After the last four books, we see the beginning of the war and how that directly affects every part of the world. I loved seeing Lorcan and Elide's relationship form as they reached Aelin. Aelin and Rowan form a stronger bond and become mates (like I thought the whole time, thanks, Maeve.) Lysandra and Aedion form their relationship, only to see it fracture at the end as Lysandra serves Aelin first. Aedion and Gavriel meet each other for the first time in years. The complexities of the inter-relationships of these characters make for a story filled with raw emotion, humor, and grief, as they would do anything for each other and their people, even going so far as sacrificing themselves in the end.

*reading this with Tower of Dawn was a fabulous idea since it follows very similar timelines; it is easy to understand that so much is going on at once