Finally! Maybe the reading slump is over! This was a book that I had started once years ago and I wasn't happy with a development made in the first chapter, so I put it down. Finally I gave it another try and pushed myself past the beginning and fell pretty easily into this book. I'll admit that looking back on the story, not a lot actually transpired. But the author does such a great job with dialogue that it was interesting all the same. Only near the end did it start to drag a bit. As someone who enjoys the series, it was worth reading. I very much look forward to the next book AND I can't wait to start the spin off. 
 CLICK FOR MY SPOILER-IFIC THOUGHTS:(view spoiler)[ First, I'll say that I'm super excited for Prudence being a skin-stalker. I think that could make for a very fun story. Now, I'm going to complain about a glaring error in the ending. 
 So the normally likable French inventor create a giant octopus tank to go after the Hive Queen. When Alexia goes to warn the Queen about this and tells her to swarm, it is clearly stated that when a queen swarms she only has hours to permanently relocate. SOMEHOW, Alexia conveniently forgets this fun fact and ends up losing the castle because of this. Perhaps you could call it "pregnancy brain" but normally I would not classify Alexia as forgetful. If she'd been forgetting things throughout the book, then it might have felt less convenient. As it is, it all works out in the end so I suppose it doesn't matter. 
 But there is still one more problem with the scenario. Here we have a very old hive of vampires with more money than God (If God cared about such things) and they know that should they ever swarm, they would need a place to relocate too or disaster would strike within hours. But this book expects me to believe that the hive NEVER planned for this possibility... Really? How does this queen not have several large estates purchased and awaiting should they ever be needed in an emergency? It really doesn't make sense. Now, I could understand if the queen swarmed to just such a location but the Octo-tank followed and destroyed each house that she went too and therefore the colony of vampires was left standing in the alley with no place to go. Sadly, that's not how it went down. In the grand scheme it doesn't matter, but continuity errors can still be grating and I had to complain somewhere. 
 FINAL SIDE NOTE: If Felicity were my sister, she would be disowned--perhaps arrested. Alexia won't do that I'm guessing. Betrayal is not something I accept well, so it's going to bug the crap out of me if Alexia just lets it go without properly shaming her evil and nasty sister. I feel the same about the French inventor. She likely killed and injured innocent people with her actions. Shame on her at the very least. (hide spoiler)] 
 Recommended 
 Yes/No Checklist 
 Sex: No *Some fade to black scenes 
 Gore: No 
 Rape: No 
 Magic: Yes *Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and a preternatural. 
 Drugs: No 
 Star Categories 
 Romance: 4 Stars 
 Action: 3.5 Stars 
 Pacing: 4 Stars 
 Writing: 4 Stars 
 Plot: 3.5 Stars 
 Overall: 4 Stars 
 Protagonist Meter 
 Damsel-----*-----Badass 
 I would never call her "kickass" but she doesn't sit on the sidelines either.