I wanted to love this so much. Maybe my expectations were too high, but It just didn’t captivate me like the first two. I still enjoyed it, and still adore the series as a whole and would definitely read more, but was disappointed. As another reviewer noted, the plot and characters here (both old and new) fell flatter. Cora especially seemed a bit one-dimensional. I was also very aware of the many times the author attempted to justify her plot or world-building choices by over explaining the technicalities, and it took me out of the story. I enjoyed meeting new characters and worlds though and am always impressed by the beauty and sheer capacity of her creativity. And I will definitely be showing up for the next book in the series, with high hopes.