I read the reviews trashing the 4th book in this series before reading the actual novel, so I had very low expectations of it. These low expectations probably helped me overcome not seeing some of my favorite characters throughout the 600+ page and putting up with the introduction of some of the minor characters. I actually enjoyed this one. I liked reading more about Cersei and Jaime, and Littlefinger. I enjoyed this one more than book 2 but not as much as book 1 or book 3. There were a lot of new characters being introduced or old ones that bore me, but if I wasn't that interested in them (the Greyjoys), I just skipped over those chapters. It was also good learning more about the Dornish and the Martells who were briefly mentioned before but never flushed out. It also helped having the map of Westeros with me while reading. Usually I read on my kindle, but this time I got a hard cover copy from the library and the map was easily accessible. I suggest in the future, don't read this on your kindle or ebook because having the map and the appendix with the characters and all their relationships easily available really makes the reading experience more enjoyable. I wish there was an index containing all of the characters and place names, so one can  find all of the instances where this person or place was mentioned. Then one can go back to those places to help remind oneself who or what they were.
I read the reviews trashing the 4th book in this series before reading the actual novel, so I had very low expectations of it. These low expectations probably helped me overcome not seeing some of my favorite characters throughout the 600+ page and putting up with the introduction of some of the minor characters. I actually enjoyed this one. I liked reading more about Cersei and Jaime, and Littlefinger. I enjoyed this one more than book 2 but not as much as book 1 or book 3. There were a lot of new characters being introduced or old ones that bore me, but if I wasn't that interested in them (the Greyjoys), I just skipped over those chapters. It was also good learning more about the Dornish and the Martells who were briefly mentioned before but never flushed out. It also helped having the map of Westeros with me while reading. Usually I read on my kindle, but this time I got a hard cover copy from the library and the map was easily accessible. I suggest in the future, don't read this on your kindle or ebook because having the map and the appendix with the characters and all their relationships easily available really makes the reading experience more enjoyable. I wish there was an index containing all of the characters and place names, so one can  find all of the instances where this person or place was mentioned. Then one can go back to those places to help remind oneself who or what they were.