ladygrey
The synopsis isn't entirely spot on. The plague doesn't hit until two thirds of the way through the novel. Before that there's a bit of adventure a good deal of romance and a bit of political intrigue. It helps to have read the novella's before as the connective tissue from the third novel to this one.
This novel is more like the novellas since it's broken in pieces that are fluid but also a bit more episodic. It works and allows Bergren to do several things with the characters and the story all in one hit. It was also nice to have Evangelia's point of view mixed in again. Except several times she lapsed into Gabi style pedantic slang that was annoying.
There were two loose threads - since we never found out what happened to Lia's drawing that the doge took. And dang, something else I can't remember right now. Also, I didn't really like all the people who died. I get that it's war and it's plague but Greco and their dad dying was not fun. Also Lia's reaction was realistic but also not fun. Action and danger and stuff is I guess fun. Dying and depression and Marcello lapsing into his own morose was not fun. And the same bad guys again and again was as bothersome in this book as it was in the second and third. I get the need for continued conflict but surely with like 124 in the Grandi it didn't have to be the same guys over and over, attacking relentlessly even in circumstances where they lacked any power and it was clearly a bad idea to threaten the She-Wolves.
It all wrapped up quickly but not too fast. If there were more episodic style stories, and it wasn't always the same bad guys again and again, I'd read more. But the reader isn't left wanting in the end.