4.5 stars. 
 At this point in the series, the story is complicated . . . there is no getting around that. The best way to understand the story is to read the previous book along with this one, it is worth it. 
 That being said, the story is complex, there were times when I wished the action would hurry up, but I understood why it couldn't. 
 We are learning a lot more about the very complex and intricate world that Rowland has built, there were a lot of things that Kara taught us in the beginning that turned out to be false because summoners were taught incorrectly (whether by their own folly or by demon's wishes). We are learning right alongside Kara about this new world, so yes, sometimes things moved a bit more slowly than I wanted. 
 I was really happy to see the whole gang together, even though you can tell that Kara was starting to miss her alone time after a while. I was particularly happy to see Jill and Zack again, I can't wait to find out what happens when they finally have that kid of theirs. 
 Overall, it is a great story and is completely worth reading, but there is no way to understand what is happening if you haven't read the previous books (and if you haven't read the last book in a while you will feel a bit lost). The author has stated that she plans on 9 books in the series, in some ways, it is a bit tempting to just wait until they all come out, but I can never resist picking up the next installment the minute it comes out.