** spoiler alert ** 
 Review first published at http://fansofmsw.com/ 
 While being an excellent book, Cast in Peril was criticized a lot after is publication last year; there are several reasons for that. 
 The principal reason is that, because Michelle has to cut the book in two, she didn't really manage to give us a satisfying ending. The enemies are temporally repelled, but nothing is really resolved. In addition, when magical events happen in this series, they are most of the time confusing at first and only become clear to Kaylin and the reader at the end of each story arc, a thing which could not happen in Cast in Peril. Thus the book can be extremely frustrating in that aspect; we don't really understand what the lost children's or Iberienne's goals are, we don't know what a familiar is, we don't know Nightshade's intentions and motivations, we don't even arrive at the West March! 
 Another reason people are disappointed with Cast in Peril is the huge expectation we had with the relationships. Severn was supposed to stay in Elantra while Kaylin and Nightshade were to travel together to the West March. Whether we like Nightshade or not, we expected something to happen in their relationship. Yet, we can't say that it really progresses in this book; quite the contrary in fact. Indeed, almost at the beginning of the book we learn that Nightshade sold some of his people to an Arcanist to serve as genuine pig for some magical experience. Kaylin is naturally extremely upset by this, but when she confront him, Nightshade refuses to explain himself. Then, during the rest of the book, he keeps acting distant. Yet once we examine more closely his and Kaylin's interactions (something we did a lot last year :) ) we can see something else: now that he is not pursuing her, Kaylin is actually annoyed by this! She keeps wondering about his feelings and she is worried about him (at the beginning she asks him how he expect to survive among the court, then she worries about him when he is attacked by the other Lords and he is hurt). Katlin's upset about the fief people is also revealing, as it shows that now she expects better from Nightshade, something that wasn't the case at the beginning of the series. Nightshade himself is annoyed with her reaction, he basically tells her not to judge him without knowing his reasons (he tells her to imagine that he didn't have a choice, something that may be true considering Elantra politics and the fact that Nightshade is Outcast; he has to make money somehow and his source are a bit limited contrary to Tiamaris.). Nightshade is upset with Kaylin's reaction and shows his anger during their interactions. He is willing to show is desire for Kaylin and he obviously has plans that include her, yet each time feelings are mentionned, he closes himself. For me, it's a definite indication that they are there; Nightshade being Barrani of course won't openly declare his feelings as it would be seen as a weakness, even if such a declaration was made privately. He might also be afraid that Kaylin would try to use it against him, if only to get some favors or influence the way he rules his fief. Yet, he has made a lot of subtle implications that the feelings are there and, given that Kaylin hold his name, he may start to get a little annoy that she didn't pick the signs :) That's why, despite what happen, I feel that their relationship is actually progressing in this book. 
 As for Severn, I didn't really get the impression that his addition to this book added much; like usually, he mostly stays in the background and his relationship with Kaylin doesn't evolve in any way. 
 Because of our frustration over those elements, lets not forget the good part : 
 One of the thing that I love in this book is that Michelle manages to remind us that the Barrani are not human. Many of the other books dealing with other races I read don't manage to do it rightly and I almost always have the impression that they are humans with other physical attributes. Here we see clearly that they don't have the same morals and way of thinking as us, as well as with Nightshade's selling of his people as with the Consort's anger at Kaylin. I also love the insight we have into Teela and the Consort's past and their way of thinking; it really gives them more depth. We also learn more about Barrani's customs and the Regalia; the Harmonist and Teller's roles are interesting and it's a good explanation of why the other Lords would not kill Nightshade on sight if he goes to the West March. Of course, Kaylin had to be Harmonist and I love how she get the role -by founding the dress in her closet- and the other Lords reaction when they see she is wearing it :). 
 As for the new characters, we get the Familiar and the Halionne. The Familiar is funny and interesting, but sometimes he really annoys me (like when he constantly interrupt Kaylin and Nightshade's interaction :) ). Some people reproach the fact that Kaylin doesn't do anything to name him despite several people's entreaties, but that's not something that bother me, as she doesn't even know what a Familiar is and nobody is willing to provide her with an answer. The Halionne are also interesting; I like the concept of the inns as it is first presented as well as their personalities and interactions' with Kaylin once they are awoken. 
 The only plot threads thing resolved in this book seems to be the one dealing with the kidnapped humans and I really like the way it is done and the way Kaylin uses the small things in their life to save them. 
 As always with Michelle, I love the beginning of the book. We see briefly how Bellusdeo is starting to get integrate into Elantra and Kaylin's life. The loss of Kaylin's home was also deeply moving and I love the fact that the Arkon inquires about her emotional well-being :) The political fallout between the dragon Court and the High Court were also very interesting and I love Teela's account of the encounter; Kaylin's finally get some court dresses even if she doesn't wear them for long. I can't wait to come back to Elantra and see what happen next...