This was my favorite of the series when I listened to them a few years back on audio, and it's still my favorite now. I did find that, in reading it instead of listening, Sameth's story drags a bit and I kept distracting myself instead of reading like I was supposed to (book discussion this afternoon!), but once the two stories come together, the pace picks up a lot. 
 This flows right into Abhorsen, which we are (regrettably) not reading next month, but instead reading the month after. (This was a compromise to accommodate the kid who desperately wants to read another book and pitched a fit at the last book discussion. Bleah.) Anyway, I'm looking forward to the April book discussion, when we can finish off the main series. Maybe in May we'll tackle Across the Wall. 
 Maybe I just love this so much because Lirael's a librarian. That makes me happy.