3.5 stars. for the first half of this book i felt a disconnect from the characters and i'm not sure why. it was hard for me to adjust to Celaena's name change. especially because they kept alternating. and it was hard for me to follow the different story lines. (that's an issue with me and my brain, not an insult to the book. this is why i don't read a lot of fantasy.) (view spoiler)[ i don't love that there is now a third love interest. i don't mind triangles, but squares are a bit much for me. i don't really have a team or a ship so i don't particularly care who she ends up with, i just don't want there to be three friggin love interests. (hide spoiler)] this was going to be a 3 star book but i really liked the ending, so that bumped it up. 
 honestly, as long as Fleetfoot survives this series, i'll be a okay.