I re-read Counterpoint for the bingo challenge and that one ends so up in the air I had to read this immediately. =) Rachel does not disappoint. She evokes emotion so viscerally I spent about middle third of the book close to tears as Rik dealt with being powerless to help those he loves and Ayden dealt with the hopelessness of being captive and as they both did their best to do what was necessary for their people while remaining true to each other. I have to admit though, the ending seemed rushed. As the next to last chapter ended (on a significant cliff hanger), I thought the book was over. And that there would need to be a whole nother book to resolve everything. But then there was one more chapter and it was all resolved in a deus ex machina feeling way. (view spoiler)[I mean Rik is just pulled from the Fallen but they still get banished or whatever. And it turns out that they have just been imagining the Aegis' plotting the whole book. And all of the sudden 300 years of hostility are just washed over (she vaguely waves her pen at this in one sentence near the very end). (hide spoiler)] It was such a rich story with such great characters, plot and world building that the resolution lacked the depth the rest of the two books had. So, however much I loved most of this book I can't give it 5 stars. It is a 4 star rating. But despite my complaints about the end it definitely worth reading. So go out and read it!!!