Absolutely not what I expected this book to be. Much better then I anticipated. A nice light read with just enough well thought out emotional connection as well as action that it was really enjoyable and hard to put down. This is not as great, epic, erotic as her Kushiel series. The first 3 books in that series will be hard for Carey to beat and most readers will have a hard time not comparing any of her other books to them. One thing that stood out for me in Santa Olivia was the pacing of the book. I found it to be extremely well done. She spanned years, keeping all the characters involved, interesting and even the climax (usually such a crazed flurry in some of the last books I've read) kept an even pace. I did not feel rushed at the end which was refreshing.