I liked the heroine very, very much, and I wish she'd had more to do with the final plot arc. The hero was about as dull as the hero of Milan's first trilogy. They didn't have a lot of chemistry. But I really liked the story and the writing and the characters and the honesty. And I liked very much that they were engaged in more than just survival and romance. I continue to wish Milan would write alternate history/fantasy, where she wouldn't be constrained by the limitations of actual history, because her characters are awesome enough to change worlds.