Should I be upset by the warm blood gushing over my hands? By the final painful exhalation from my victim? By the stench of body fluids pooling under his dead body? 
 Yes--taking a life was never easy, no matter the circumstances. 
 But did I regret it? 
 No. 
 Do you hear that? That's the sound of my heart singing as I finished this book. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. I'M LITERALLY SPEECHLESS WITH GLEE. 
 Firstly, a confession. Maria Snyder could have written an entire book about Yelena and Valek doing house chores together and I'd still read it and give it 3 stars. Valek and Yelena are MY FAVORITE BOOK COUPLE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. 
 So I may be just a tad biased. 
 #sorrynotsorry 
 I happen to think that this series is superior to Poison Study, why? There's so much Valek, y'all! I'm unabashedly in love with him and nothing makes me happier than seeing a chapter from Valek's narrative (except peanut butter and chocolate, eaten from a jar with a glass of milk). 
 Seriously, this book punched me in the feels so many times. There is, of course, the warm glow of Valek and Yelena's fantastically awesome relationship to which we should all emulate. 
 "Till death. I do swear, love." Valek whispered in my ear. 
 "Beyond death. My vow to you," I said. 
 I swear to god, if anyone else in any other books had spoken those lines, I'd have burst out laughing for 5 minutes straight. With Yelena and Valek, all I can say is *high-pitched squealing* 
 Then there's the situation with Valek and the Commander. That's another relationship that's just as deep as his and Yelena's, in a different way. They've had so much history together, they've been through so much together, and the developments within that relationship, that trust, within this book wrenched my guts. 
 The plot is fairly complex, but I, who hate unnecessary complexity, didn't have a problem with it. Needless to say, if you haven't read the previous books in the series, you won't understand a damn thing. Which makes it even more important that you start because THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SERIES EVER. And Khanh never lies :)