FINALLY I can say I like a Dresden book again! Butcher went back to the root of what makes this series work: Dresden using his wit and instincts rather than developing these overly convoluted plans that only vaguely make sense and never seem realistic. 
 A lot of great characters are back in full force: 
 Michael: as a knight and not just Molly's dad, with some great emotional scenes 
 Sanya: my favorite Russian knight with my new favorite line to say to my dachshund: "tiny, but fierce!" 
 Kincaid: with some new insight into his background 
 Plus, we've got Ivy, Marcone, Mab, and a new appearance by the billy goat gruffs, which I really enjoyed. The cast list of this book is pretty large actually. 
 While reading (er...listening) to this book, I found myself thinking, "Oh yeah, THIS is why I like this series. THIS is why I forced myself through back-to-back crapfests." It also felt like the overarching plot of the series was finally moving forward after remaining stagnant for quite awhile. It didn't feel like just another episode of the Dresden Files, but a continuation of a larger story. 
 I had to dock a few points because of Luccio. I really liked the fact that when we first met her, she was just this badass wizard. She was older and not attractive to Dresden, so we could actually see her as a person. Well, she's got this new young body now and has stopped being a real person and has even lost some of her badassness because her body isn't as magical. Or something. She has devolved into the same bland personality that all of Dresden's "interests" have. Although, (view spoiler)[ I am SO happy that Dresden finally got some so we can quit hearing him complain about it. (hide spoiler)]