I feel like this book hasn't really done anything for the series as a whole. Quinn has become a stagnant character as the books go on. The authors have made her so completely overpowered for the entire series and then she looses in a very pathetic and rushed way. If she was going to "fall from grace" I wish she would have been at least smart about it like the previous books have been pushing in our faces so heavily. Shes supposed to be this smart and deadly capable murderess and yet she doesn't have the oversight to think that maybe the person who controls desire and has repeatedly shown in front of Quinn that she can get under Lazarus's skin that maybe she could do it in battle. The discussion of Quinn's lack of trust in everybody around her has been at the core of all these books so its unbelievable that she would die in a way that she would have avoided in the previous books, especially when the last time that she went into her kill everything mode she(Draeven mostly) had to stop herself from killing Lazarus.
Speaking of trust, all of her relationships with the rest of the court are disappointing. She hasn't really made any real or deeper connections with anyone throughout the last 3ish books. I wish she could have made better connections with the other parts of Lazarus's court besides the connection she has with Lorraine. I thought that in the last book she made some progress and understanding with Draeven and it would have been nice to for them to explore the intricacies of their very similar yet completely different relationship with Lazarus. They are two sides of a coin, not just opposites. Her relationship with Axe could have also been show more deeply as a reluctant mentor type of relationship instead of just a comment by Loraine. It seems that all the development that happened in the last books was thrown out the window in favor of book one type mind games with Lazarus.
When it comes to Risk it makes no sense for Quinn to be jealous, especially when were told that shes been trying to push her to trust and befriend the rest of the court on top of pushing her to be less afraid of men. I don't believe that Quinn would be so selfish to destroy that, and if that's where the authors wanted to lean into then they could have put more impact behind what happened at Axes birthday party. Both sisters barely even thought about it, the only thing that came of it was when Quinn apologized for keeping her worried. We didn't even get to see the growth that came with that decision. It would have been nice to have a chapter or two about their adventures and the problems that come with relearning each other after 10 years apart.
Lazarus's character has become just as shallow, if not more then Quinn. His only real motivation seems to be sleeping with her. Its clear that they are heading towards some kind of love soulmate type deal but he doesn't really seem to think or debate about that or even be disturbed that hes feeling that way. Every time they interact he seems mad that shes undermining him and drawn to her but in a very shallow way and not even of his own accord. Again, it would be nice to have more development in their actual relationship. Normally the smut part of relationships is entertaining but in this instance it just detracts from what would be good character development and a better understanding of their motivations. It could even show how damaged they both are and how similar they are. Instead of telling us that they are two of the same, show us through their reactions to both situations and each other.
Now on to the actual plot. It was okay. Mostly it was predictable and repetitive of all the other books. I'm tired of seeing Quinn and Lazarus go in circles. It seems that the authors were trying to keep her as bad ass and over powered as possible so that her death would be a shock but it just makes her seem unnecessarily cruel. I get that she dark and craves violence but shes acting like a child. She has repeatedly shown to be smart and capable to the point where literally everyone underestimates her, which is another annoying habit everyone has but I digress. Shes not super scary and sought after because shes a fear twister, her real power comes from her knowledge about the game and how to play it. She has the ability to see long term and act in accordance. Her two outbursts, one with the lord and one with the guard, set her back all the way to the first book. Its so out of character and unnecessary.
I will conclude this with, these books have so much potential, I wouldn't write such a mindbogglingly long review if I didn't think so. The story has been compelling and interesting and I cant wait to see what the new villain will bring to the story, especially with that cliffhanger. I love that there are so many parts of this story to explore and I hope that this series will conclude in a satisfying way.