This one was at times a bit lighter and darker than the others of the series. Phedre, being Kushiel's Chosen, experiences pain as pleasure more often than not. So this gets pushed to limits that were a bit hard to deal with but luckily nothing so overpowering that I couldn't deal. My biggest issue was there were children in this harem Phedre gets herself into. Of course, her purpose is to change this situation so I'm okay with it. 
 As for the lighter, some of the adventures were simple and less involved which was refreshing, some of the longer adventures were simpler and more interesting and Hyacinthe's plight was something a reader and fan will be interested in as it is a long standing issue sitting over Phedre's head. 
 I'm intrigued by the adventure, the love between Joscelin and Phedre, and the story of this 'world,' though I can't say this is the most fascinating book to hit the shelves. 
 I can't decided really how much I like this story. I liked the woman of the Harem rising up to thwart Death's Lord and their was the turmoil of the situation coming between Joscelin and Phedre but all in all I'm not sure the story was told well... of course, I did rather enjoy the journey to save Hyacinthe, though the actual aftermath of this was rather anti-climactic. And of course, they sent Hyacinthe off with Drustan's (Queen's hubby) sister who has loved him for a long time, but that didn't really seem real but rather convenient. And yet I hurriedly moved to the next in the series. Go figure.