A strong conclusion to the duology. The magic system is still my favorite part of the story - it has the "traditional" method of magic, i.e. casting spells, using unusual ingredients to create spells, etc. but there are clever twists, clever spells, and there's a limited amount of magic to be used. There's good character development with some teen attraction and romance but all 'closed door'. Action filled and entertaining, but I found it a bit too long - the middle dragged and seemed to go on too long in developing the alliances and everyone's angst. Otherwise, a good read. Recommended.