This book had a strong opening, but I think the love triangle bogged it down a bit. The Goddess stuff with Lucile and Sion definitely improved things. Lucile, in general, is the star of this book, although it was also interesting to follow Ryner's changing perspective on war. Overall, I think the pacing was just very off in this, exacerbated by Kagami's penchant for over-writing. I think the next book will get things moving properly again.