A wizard's work is never done and nobody knows that better than Harry Dresden.

At the end of Ghost Story, we found out that Harry was in fact only mostly dead and that Mab and the sentient island Demonreach have been keeping him alive as his spirit tried to prepare for the afterlife. But instead of resting on the laruals of having cheated death, Harry now plans to cheat fate. He might be the Winter Night, but he has no intention of letting the role consume him and turn him into a monster the way it did his predicessor. However, he might not have that long to worry about it, as Mab's first assignment might end his career early - she wants him to kill her successor, the Winter Lady Maeve. Reuniting with his half-brother Thomas and his infatuated apprentice Molly, he sets out to figure out how to do that. 

Cold Days is a return to the classic form for the series - Harry discovers some kind of supernatural threat and has to stop it with the help of a selection of his allies - with an added twist. Instead of acting as a relatively lone wizard, this time he is an agent of the Winter Court, with resources and minions at his disposal. A lot of the story also focuses on his exploration of the powers that come with being the Knight and of his struggles with the new desires and temptations that such a position offers him. Honestly, I wish that this character arc had been explored a bit more. While it's certainly something that will return in future books, it felt like there was little progression of it during this book, making the various scenes where it's brought up start to feel a bit repetative. Additionally, the main plotline of the book became a bit excessively complicated at times, making it a bit hard to follow. 

Apart from that, though, this book was a lot of fun. Seeing Harry join up with his friends again and get back in action, getting answers to some of the questions left by the last book, and generally resuming the rip-roaring action that the series is known for was very enjoyable. Harry, Molly, and Thomas work very well as a trio and the book features the Fae Courts heavily, which was always one of my favorite parts of the worldbuilding. It will be interesting to see where Butcher takes the series from here, as several potential major plotlines are set up in the finale (and not just for Harry!). 

Although Cold Days has a few weaknesses, it's a solid entry in the now-sprawling Dresden Files universe that manages to mix the old status quo with the new quite effectively. 

 Another great entry by JB.
 I loved this book, with one complaint; I wish we got Harry interacting with Maggie. I know this is Jim showing us everything else that’s happening with Harry post-changes (Well, in Cold Days’s case. But Ghost Story was basically an interlude.) before getting to that, but It’s been what? Three book since we found out Harry has a daughter? And Harry hasn’t even had a conversation with her? I don’t even know what this little girl is like.

Cold Days is a good addition to the Dresden files series, especially in terms of character development. Molly's fate is especially interesting when compared to the variety of fates she could have that Harry saw in their soul gaze when she first became his apprentice. She gets close to having them all. The characterization of Karin Murphy seems wrong. I'm not sure if it's foreshadowing that she

could be infected and is acting out of character, or because she's lost without her job and purpose of protecting people to define her life

. Having Ace be one of the people Harry squares up against, and then having Fix be put in a similar emotional position as what led Ace to becoming a villain is an interesting set up that I hope will have a good pay off and set Fix further on the path towards becoming a main character. I really enjoyed the use of a variety of side characters, especially Mac, and I look forward to seeing how they will be further expanded on as dynamic characters. This wasn't my favorite novel in the series, but it definitely wasn't filler.