I enjoyed this a bit less than its predecessor, Red-Headed Stepchild, mostly because we shifted from vampires to mages and some of those mages are very damned dull. Valva was a big negative. Adam's absence in most of the book was also saddening. But I liked Maisie! I enjoyed the new characters (most of them) and the story. It's my plan to finish the series and probably start on Wells' next series.