Considering this book's format (multiple short stories covering very different times/characters), I was overall pleasantly surprised by it. The really enjoyed and appreciated the first 80% of the story, either for their own story elements or for the insights they provided into the world I've now read so much of. I found Farley's story particularly refreshing, as she is perhaps the most important character in the series that we never got a PoV chapter from.

However, on the flip side, getting these new stories & perspectives made me wish Aveyard had mixed things up more often in the main series' books. This was compounded for me towards the end; Evangeline & Elane's story wore my resolve to finish reading somewhat, while Mare & Cal's story stopped me in my tracks for weeks. I do believe the chapters were needed, as this series has always been Mare's story foremost. Still, I wish these last two stories were shorter; they didn't accomplish much for me that the final flash-forward hadn't already covered. 9/10