Don't expect a nice and magical fantasy novel about a dragon lady, it kinda is that but it is a well done family and war drama even more. It is very dialogue heavy, which I enjoyed, and takes some turns I didn't expect. While McKillip's writing style was great throughout, I felt very differently about the two halfs of the book. The first half read like a myth or fairy-tale for me, which created an atmosphere but made me feel detached from the characters and story. You could say the first part is about love and the second about hate, so while hate can grow strong fast, love needs some time to develope and for that the book felt a little too short. I accepted that for Sybel's love for Tam, since it is just to be expected that she would love the child she raised, but it just did not work for the love interest. I also did not feel that a person that lived in isolation from humans almost all her live would behave like Sybel did in some ways. However, from the moment Sybel was called by the wizard I became emotionally invested in this book. The relationships, dialogues and feelings felt so real and intense. If the whole book would have been like that, it would have been 5 stars for sure. Sybel makes an interesting development that I didn't expect and the resolution to the story was just wonderful. It was a great and intense drama more than it was a fantasy novel about magical creatures and once I realised that, the book unfolded its whole potential.