I can see why many people respect Hobb as a great writer. I really see the skills many other writers try to drill into new authors' heads wonderfully exemplified here and everything fit so well. It kept me going when things were constantly getting heated and nothing was getting better even though some plots aspects were being solved.

The end didn't particularly fit well with the feel of the rest of the book, as was the same with the previous book, but it had a solid end to it and I can only imagine how reader's at the time of publication must have felt having to wait for the next book to find out the implications behind what happened.

I'm glad that we got to know more of Kettricken in this book, as I was worried that she would be cast aside as a minor character now that she became queen-in-waiting. With her, and with Fitz's undying devotion, we were able to see how well suited both she and Verity were to the throne and that really developed their characters in my mind. I'm not sure if Kettricken or Verity overtook Burrich as my favourite, but they definitely had my attention and I was rooting for Verity the entire time.

I wish more were revealed about the characters' pasts, but from what I did have the story was great and everything was woven together very nicely. Past suspicions were confirmed and new surprises were everywhere, and it was pleasant to have an interesting read the entire way through.