Things that I loved: the political worldbuilding (setting the stage with protests, hate groups, and the history of freedom fighting, as well as the complex ways Witchers and their human allies resist), the ride-or-die family/friend dynamic in our main cast, some very good twists hitting where one least expects.

Things I wanted more of: more magical worldbuilding (we only saw other brewers in one scene and only interacted with one; we have no idea what brewer training is like or what other specialties there are; we don’t know what rules magic follows; the little witcherpedia entries at the beginning of almost every chapter do not stand in for well-woven worldbuilding), more interactions with the adults and the hate groups (the political backdrop is strong but we could have leaned on that more to get other things), more of some of the side characters who play big roles in the various twists (it’s not a good twist if you couldn’t see it coming even if you went back to analyze the text), more about the time BEFORE Venus’s parasite (I don’t think I ever really got a handle on how that happened or what Presley’s role in it was)

I also reached the end of the book with a lot of unanswered questions. Did I enjoy the ride? Generally. Would I recommend it? Yeah, I think so. But I also think it could have done more.