Karen Chance simply gets better and better as a writer. This book is the best thing she's ever written (and I thought her last book, Hunt the Moon, was her best too). 
 The books clock in at 536 pages, and none of it feels like padding or filler. Everything builds toward a conclusion that I never saw coming in a million years (though thankfully no cliffhanger ending!) The pacing of the book is perfect too. It doesn't quite have the frantic, rollercoaster-ride feel of some of the Cassie books, but it never drags either, which is impressive for a work of this length. 
 The story is set amidst the ongoing war with the Black Circle and the challenges for the empty seats on the North American Senate. Dory is working on the Senate task force in trying to stop the smuggling of weapons and other even less salubrious items from Faerie. Familiar characters from the previous books pop up again, including Ray (now with his head firmly attached to his body) who plays quite a large role in the story (who knew Ray was a 'hacker' LOL!) The luscious Louis Cesare is there too of course, and he has made his mind up on what he wants in his future, even if Dory is not so certain. There were a couple of quite lovely moments between them, including one where he is 'little spoon' which I thought was so poignant. 
 We also get much more information on Dory's history with Mircea, and some details are quite revelatory. I usually look at Mircea's actions with a very cynical eye, but he was everything a father could be in this book and I felt quite warm towards him by the end. We learn a lot about Dory's two 'sides' and I'm really interested to see where Karen Chance will take this in future books (especially given the ending!) 
 There's tons of humour throughout the book, as usual, with several laugh out loud moments. (And *spoiler alert* a very amusing little scene with a certain lady friend of Mircea's!!) 
 A lot of questions about Dory were answered in this book, but it also sets the scene for the ongoing war, which I assume we'll pick up on in the next Cassie book. I cannot wait!