I really liked the last 30% of the book but I thought that the first 70% of the story dragged on in a way that made it a bit difficult to read. The romance in the beginning felt stiff and unreal to me and I was sometimes put off by the relationships between the more powerful, well connected peoples (e.g., Kahlan, the Galeans) and the less powerful, more local peoples (e.g., the Mud People, the Baka Ban Mana). It wasn't until the end, when the pace picked up, that I felt any real connection between Richard and Kahlan nor felt comfortable with the balance of power of the peoples like at the moment when the Baka Ban Mana reclaimed their ancestral land. That being said, I enjoyed the plot line, the development of our understanding of wizards and magic, and the development of different characters' and groups' motives. I will be continuing with the series as I hope the pacing issue was confined to this story alone. Also, I loved Gratch!