I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I have rarely been as dramatically and repeatedly shocked as I was with this book. When I started it, I had very high expectations, expectations that it seemed, at first, this book would not meet. I was not a huge fan of the writing style at first, as it struck me as a bit different from the other books, a fusion of that style and one or two London dialects. I also came upon a few passages I found slightly repetitive, and a particular characterization that I didn't know if I would like or not. But, the style slowly grew on me, and though I don’t like it quite as well as the styles in the other books, I liked it enough to fall in love with the book overall. And plot has a lot to do with that too.

The plot is, for sure, an area where this book really shines. This is, simply put, one of the most brilliantly plotted books I have ever read. From intensely involved, detailed, and meticulously well-researched plans to dark and complicated character pasts, from interweaving storylines from the previous books to jaw-dropping twists and turns within twists and turns that always kept me hooked and keep the stakes sky-high, the plotting of this book is genius and a very impressive balance of a multitude of details and characters. The romance I loved from the previous books was back with a new unique love story that, while again not my favorite of the series, did develop beautifully, and there were several more characters for me to get to know and fall in love with alongside the ones who had already won my heart in the previous books. 

The ending was a pretty sudden escalation, which was both very exciting and a bit jarring (kind of felt like a gear shift almost) but, while it had little explicit build up, it all ended up making sense, and I certainly didn’t see it coming. In that way, this book was different from the others before it. The best way I can describe it is ‘epic,' and there was a sharper contrast, towards the end, between the action and the romance. It seemed, at times, as if Eden had almost spread herself too thin with the storytelling . . . the operative word there being almost, because she did manage to pull it off, and pull it off very well. She is a very skilled and capable writer, and I will eagerly read anything she writes in the future.

Overall, this book and series are absolutely stellar, and I cannot wait to read more. I cannot recommend this series highly enough! Thank you, Sarah M. Eden!