My expectation going into this book was that it was a long-standing fantasy story and although I hadn’t read the books prior to this one, that I would enjoy this as a standalone. I would report that it would be better to read these in order. It’s not a bad story but not much happens. It is building the plot through a lot of travel but without much action. This can be a great approach in a series when you want to lay down a strong follow up book and based on invested readers through prior books. It doesn’t work so well as a stand-alone. 
Solid writing and some good characters but overall it was just okay for me. Nothing to love and nothing to hate. 
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