This isn't a review. This is mostly just me gushing my feelings over EVERYTHING!!!

This has to be my favourite book in this series so far! It's not too grim and dark, it's funny, it's cute, I FEEL LIKE IM DYING EVERY SECOND...I shouldn't say it isn't "grim and dark", since stuff happens and people die and there's little skirmishes here and there, and oh, there is the problem with the Scanrans. But overall, this book made me want to weep and never stop - mostly because I've never felt so happy and proud and just plain emotional in my entire life! I feel like I'm Kel's mother at the end, openly crying in front of everyone. SO. MANY. DAMN. FEELS.

Let's talk about Cleon for a sec. I wasn't really on board this ship this time around. I remember really liking him and Kel together before, but this time I was kind of meh. I like Cleon, don't get me wrong. He's a great guy, and he's brave and funny and adorably squishy, but the romance felt weird. Like Kel had absolutely no feelings for him, but then Cleon kisses her and she's all like, "well, I did kind of like that". And then they grow to like each other...I felt like this romance was more one sided. Cleon's feelings towards Kel were more genuine than Kel's feelings towards Cleon. Also Kel wasn't all that serious about this relationship like Cleon was. I mean, she wants to focus on getting her shield and being a full-time knight; she doesn't want to get married and have kids and take care of a fief. At least, not yet. They're still kind of cute together though, and I love how everyone knows they're involved - that scene when Neal, Merric and Owen make up excuses had me dying with laughter.

Speaking of Neal...SOMEONE HOLD ME CAUSE I LITERALLY CANT HANDLE THE FEELS *cries for all eternity* He wears her shukusen as he's knighted. HE WEARS HER SHUKUSEN AHHHH

Since I've mentioned Neal, let's talk about Dom. Dom is cute. Dom is funny. Dom is kind. Dom is just EVERYTHING. I love his character so much and I can't wait to see him more in Lady Knight. He's an interesting contrast to Neal, yet he reminds me of Neal too, but like the less dramatic version loool

The Ordeal was what I was waiting for all this time. Forget about what happened in the room...the second the door opened and Kel saw Raoul and her parents and Neal and I'm just hear thinking, OH MY GOSH I AM SO PROUD WHY ARENT YOU REAL SO I CAN HUG YOU. I honestly felt like I could feel everyone's sigh of relief. But besides that, I felt this overwhelming sense of pride and respect and awe and love!!!! THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL GOOD WRITING! I felt all those emotions and it made me want to tear up, but NOPE IT WASNT OVER.

Kel's knighted, her mother is crying and so is her father, she hugs her friends and Raoul, and then she turns and is gifted a shield by Shinko and the QUEEN, and it's not just any shield, it has a distaff border which even Alanna doesn't have. AND THEN ALANNA REVEALS HERSELF and I think anyone could have guessed that, BUT MY THROAT GOT ALL TIGHTENED UP AND I WANTED TO CRY (but I suck at crying) and then Kel's like, "You want to come to dinner? Someone has to keep Neal from giving a long speech." And Alanna says yes, and it's over and I died.

Wow this is long and kind of "reviewy". If I could rate this higher I'd give it a million stars!!!