This one was hard to rate. Most of the first part was slow - while I was happy and intersted to learn more about Dmitiri's backstory, it just seemed to take FOR-EV-ER. The Avery and Lissa story was stupid. There may be a purpose to it but honestly, it just seemed dumb. The last bit of the book, though, made up for a lot of things. Very dramatic and intense. Here's hoping we are on an upswing for the last two books of the series.