First of all: this was really excellent. 
 Second of all: I should not have put off reading this for so long. Partly because it was a dumb move in general, but partly because I think my procrastination is responsible for feeling like this book was holding me at arms length most of the time. 
 It's not that I wasn't invested in these characters, it's just that I wasn't as invested as I had been before. I'm also torn between not being sure if this needed to be 800 pages and convinced this could've been split into two books. But all of my qualms are certainly because I waited too long to read this and are definitely my own damn fault. 
 Anyway, read this series. I adored it. I'm glad to have finally completed it. (Stars Above notwithstanding.)