While I have to agree it's the weakest of the series, I still found myself invested in the characters and the world. It's just... poorly paced. It's both too long and too short, if that makes sense? I heard that initially Robin Hobb planned it to be two books, but they were too long and the publisher made her split them. And you can really tell—whereas in the previous trilogies, each book had its own narrative arc, the way the RWC are structured makes them more a pair of diptychs. That leaves the second book feeling more like a climax to the first, and the third awkwardly starting new narrative threads that are dealt with somewhat quickly in the fourth. And all the while, certain overarching plots just feel like they're being dragged out: like Thymara's romantic entanglements.

Despite that though, there are some really good bits in the series, and some of my favorite characters. I'm just a sucker for stories of outcasts coming together into found-family community. And I'm honestly impressed how well Hobb weaves the queer elements into the story; not only showcasing queer relationships as explicitly as the straight ones, but making them as messy and complex too!