This was generally pretty enjoyable. I liked that this was more similar to/mirrored the first book in the series in a fun way. 

The thing that excited me the most was that (light spoilers)

It's pretty much confirmed now that Pali is (aro?) ace! Also her sisters seem kinda demisexual? But at any rate, I've gotten ace vibes from Pali before (from the books in the Return of the Red Company series) but it wasn't enough to confirm it for me, but this definitely is. So on one hand, I do have some critiques from an ace stereotype perspective, mostly to note how much Pali fits the ace female warrior/knight/paladin archetype (which is surprisingly common), on the other hand, I'm so excited for book three in the Lays of the Heart Fire series, because I really think her and Kip are going to have some interesting conversations, hopefully!