The Blood Shrike is the kind of character who can sink her teeth into you. Denied her name (such that the only person who calls her by her given name is her sister, even among allies, friends, and others who knew her before the title), she must give up her humanity to become an army, even as the last of her humanity beats bloody fists against the wall of her mask, begging to be let out. She is the heart of this story, even though Laia is the one who follows a more traditional hero's journey.

Speaking of Laia... She has finally come into her own, shedding her cowardice and standing up for the hopes of any who have no one else to fight for them. But we also see the pain and anger that dogs her every step, as we start getting answers about her past (including one that just screams heartbreak). But by the end, she is a force to be reckoned with.

And then Elias. Faced with new responsibility beyond even Laia and the Blood Shrike, he falters. We watch all three of our heroes fail - violently, brutally - in this book, we watch them wallow in the resulting guilt and rage. We didn't know what Elias bargained for during the previous book, didn't know the true cost - and neither did he. Some things even love, hope, and grim determination cannot beat.

We get so many answers in this book to questions we may not even have known to ask. And I'm not sure I'm ready for the end.