Fun and fierce
First off, I really enjoy this series / universe! This author is very talented and one of my favorite of late, and I really wish I could have given this 5 stars. Unfortunately, it has multiple editorial mistakes (her instead his, Ashe instead of Ash, repetition, etc.). They weren't egregious but there were a few in every chapter. Also, and the bigger portion if my deduction, for whatever reason this story contained a lot if instances where the author expositioned by "telling" his readers events instead of "showing" the events. It made the flow a little rough, and all these combined kept me from full immersion.
(One last pet peeve: the characters are never really re-described in this book and only one duffee character gets her transformation / alternate form described. The others just "transform" and since I've read dozen of books since the first one, and it's been quite a bit of time, a refresher of appearances and capabilities would have been amazing. Even new characters aren't really described in detail, and that's part of my previous "tell vs show" content).
Plot wise, a lot goes on in this book and it clearly builds to crossover point from the companion series written by Mr. Arand. Our MC finally starts to throw himself into his role as upstart Odin. He recalls his past and ingrained hatreds but also recognizes its not sustainable or productive for his future. So there's stine definitely character development here, and two of his entourage also get a bit more depth throughout this book.
All in all, I'm excited to see where this series, and the Veil Verse collection as whole, goes from here. I'll definitely pick up the next installment!