This had all the things I love about a JAL book, emotional depth, character development, high angst, and great side characters. The way Magnus and Alexandra slowly reconnected was everything I love about her books because it's done within the characters. He’s all broody and wounded, and she’s smart and composed. But I did feel like it took a while to really get going. I found myself putting this book down a lot the first half. The beginning felt a little drawn out, especially with the flashback, and there were spots where I had to reread to figure out who was doing what. But with JAL, even her average is better than most books' best!