Oof. Did not realize this was #3 in a series until I was 1/4 of the way through, and totally in the dark on many of the characters and back story. Definitely need to read the first books. There are too many characters with too much history to appreciate what is going on. It’s a bummer because the story about the main characters, Julian and Elspeth, is a good stand alone… but assassins and dead siblings and “Wise Women” feels rushed and didn’t make sense to me (a chaotic reader). 

The submissive storyline was interesting and spicy. But I was too distracted by the characters and relationships I didn’t have context for, and couldn’t keep names and characters straight. Definitely NOT a standalone.