I generally quite enjoy this series, but in this one I was surprised to find myself more invested in the overarching problem-solving rather than the romance. I don't know if I found Ruvan very interesting, but it didn't matter much because Elise Kova is very good at creating knotty predicaments and undoing them within the rules of her world. Aside from some anachronistic speech, there's good research on smithing which shows in the depth of the writing. Also I want silver sickles now.