** spoiler alert ** 
 I loved the first two books in this series, so I felt obligated to finish this one, but it was hard. 
 It almost never takes me longer than a few days to finish a book, but this bad boy sucked up several weeks. It was maddening, it would be moments of activity followed but chapters of dull and boring. I'd get wrapped up in a storyline only to have to abandon it for several chapters at which point I'd already forgotten who everyone was. 
 Maas tried to do too much with this book and it suffered for it. I did like that we got more back story but even that was weak. I'd really have liked something a bit more traumatic than a senseless sacrifice. 
 More Manon and Rowan in book 4, please. Less plotting that leads nowhere.