I struggled with this one a bit, if I am honest. After really being into the first novel in this series I was looking forward to this one.
There are moments where this sings but it drags a bit at times too. There is a definite sense of the 'difficult second book symdrome' with it. There is also a sense, I found, of the author trying to decide what his plot engine will be. Will it be the existing tangle around Baru and what she will do to bring down Falcrest or is it the new tangle around the antagonists just introduced. This kind of gives the book a little of a schizophrenic feel.
It's still ending up at 4 stars but I am hoping for a grand finish to the series.