Eh. I don’t know. My relationship with this series has stalled (or maybe it wasn’t that strong to begin with?). The things I like about the books (the world is well-imagined, even if I can never quite visualize the PsyNet; the stories have a certain compelling quality that moves them forward) are the same in every book. The things I don’t like are the same, as well: the animalistic changelings are the Good Race and the cold, intellectual Psy are the Bad Race. The only way the Psy can get better as a race or as individuals is to be more like the Changelings, who are presented as perfect, if not as individuals, at least as a society or societies. I don’t care if these are cheesy books about leopards who shift into human form; the idea of a master race continues to give me the heebie-jeebies. Also, I get so sick of how “-est” each heroine and especially hero is. The tortured character (usually the hero but sometimes the heroine) is the most tortured character ever. The heroes are all the most macho, the best at being a changeling or a Psy or whatever. The Psy heroes/heroines continue to not just be good at whatever their Psy talent is but the best, the most unusual and special Psy out there. The women are fierce, unless they are healers or empaths, and then they’re the gooeiest and sweetest and most nurturing heroines EVAH. Even a heroine like the one in Shards of Hope, Zaira, who is honestly dangerously violent and unhinged (and who suffered, as a child, the most over-the-top mistreatment I may have ever read about), is ultimately portrayed as being in the right because she only beats people to death who deserve it. This ignores the fact that she almost attacks a changeling who (barely) flirted with her mate (he stops her), and almost beats to death a human who made her angry. I don’t like the pro-vigilante message in the books or the simplistic black-and-white, good-vs.-evil conflict that’s set up. Lip service is given to many of the characters (usually Psy) being morally ambiguous but the way they’re portrayed it’s more like they’re tough on the outside but marshmallows on the inside. That said, I’ll probably keep reading the series and ultimately my grade was a B-. At least they aren’t boring.