I received a advance ARC copy for my honest review.

Riverside is under siege, the committee goes from building to building, damaging them as they go, and they'll leave them blockade on the island. Until Shade a serial killer gets turned over to the committee and for some reason the people don't want to.

Reza comes to Riverside looking for Vincent, Tessa and her friends keep he truth from him, tell him he's dead and even as he helps her with the crisis. She still doesn't tell him, he's alive, and let's him keep thinking he's dead.

Reza is worried about the siege, realizes that food, other supplies will run out on island, doesn't seem to bother it's sordid of leader in Tess and the only thing she does is plan a big party.

Then you have Diane and Davenant interact for the first-time since she became a Duchess, and Ixbaab is missing from this episode.

PICK

Tessa Gratton's TREMONTAINE episodes never disappoint. This gorgeous follow-up to the S3 premiere takes us inside Reza's grief for Vincent, which serves as a neat parallel for besieged Riverside itself. Every emotion rings true, with an added layer for anyone who's read SWORDSPOINT and knows what's really up with Vincent.

Diane continues to scheme alongside the ep's main storyline, of course. She's the Slytherinest Slytherin ever--and she has both a worthy, dangerous adversary and a potential paramour in her sights. I can't wait to see what she'll do next (and of course, I'm hoping she and Micah will interact LOTS MORE).

I've discovered that it is very difficult to review a serialized novel. While there is usually sufficient action and character development, it's impossible for the piece to work entirely on its own and it's hard to review the section without the rest of the context. This chapter was good and I'm going to keep reading, so I guess that's good enough.

3.5 stars. I will write a review of the entire season when all the parts have been released.