I loved seeing some growth in Sirantha, as she figured out how to navigate the political world, make alliances, and curb her impulsive instincts. But I have to admit that Jax still irritates me with the way she nearly always thinks in cost/benefit ratio to herself. It's not so much just that, but then she tries to say things like "I'd walk through fire for him," and her internal thoughts just don't match. It makes me not believe her when she says stuff like that. 
 My heart was breaking for March. What he'd gone through to try to repay a debt to a woman that gave him a life, where he ended up because of it - without emotion, care or regard for anyone or anything. But he was still always there for Jax. Without hesitation he went somewhere he knew he'd be intensely uncomfortable to support her. He still wanted to heal, even if his conscious mind didn't think it did. And his love for Jax pushed him where he needed to be. And I LOVED the entire development in this area, between Jax and March. (view spoiler)[Her 'navigating' his mind to put him back together again was brilliant. I would have liked it to have a bit more consequence, because it seemed too easy in the end. (hide spoiler)] 
 Vel, what can I say about Vel. He's one of my all-time favorite characters. He's a fantastic friend, intriguingly 'other,' and so incredibly smart (most of the time - I'll get into that later). I loved how he was absolutely there for Jax and everyone that meant anything to her. Regardless of being on his home world, his loyalty was 100% to her, with no questions on his part. Though they say that 'bugs' don't have emotional connections in the same way humans do, I'd have to disagree when it comes to Vel. It's more than obvious that he cares about Sirantha. (view spoiler)[And the tattoo! The depth of meaning and emotion that I took from the design that he put on her. That was such an incredibly poignant thing for me. (hide spoiler)] 
 There wasn't a lot of secondary characters. Hit, Dina and Doc showed up minimally and just enough to let you know they were still there. Jael was there a bit more as Jax's bodyguard. I really love Hit and Dina - I wish we'd gotten some more time with them, and hope we do in the future. 
 Several things kept this from being a higher star rating for me. The Syndicate-related bounces that were interspersed throughout the story irritated the hell out of me. After the fifth time or so I stopped reading them and just paged past. I kept thinking 'I got it! Things are getting worse!' I was probably so irritated because it would come at a time when I didn't really want to leave the main story. 
 Then there was Jax's propensity to repeat information, thoughts, ideas that I already know and have heard before. Not just from previous books but several times in this book. Every time she mentions how she misses grimspace I don't need to hear about how it's addictive, and it's killing her from the inside out, and blah, blah, blah. Seriously. Enough already. 
 Finally, I couldn't help but think that both Jax and Vel were bordering on stupid towards the end. (view spoiler)[On a planet that has well done technology - if slightly out of date innovation - they're looking for her assistant, Constance, formerly PA245. When she disappears for several days they worry but don't really do anything to look for her. In that time there are constantly cleaning bots running into Jax, circling her, etc. Then when they finally decide to go look for her, Vel creates a device that can track her and finds her in pieces. Trailing those tracks, they find cleaning bots. Taking them, fearing them witness, they don't even put it together that maybe, just maybe her AI has figured out a way to alert her until later. Considering I'd been questioning it for a good 30% of the book I questioned Jax's intelligence, and most certainly Vel's - whom I hold to an even higher standard. (hide spoiler)] 
 But from that point on - Wow, I loved it. I was on the edge of my seat from there to the end. It was beautifully done.