Ohhh Miss Auel. I love this series, I really do, but unfortunately this is the book that has always held me back from the final book. I struggle to get through it.
This book is 100% filler. Enjoyable filler, but filler nonetheless. Nothing. Happens. Whatsoever. Throughout. 800. Pages.
On this read through, I noticed more, read more into things that younger me skipped over. Ayla did the least amount of healing she's ever done in the series in this book, and I was saddened. I love reading about the healing.
This book contains some of the cheesiest dialogue, as well as the WORST sentences. I read several out loud, marvelling at how utterly ridiculous they were. VERY sloppy sentence structure sometimes. I was disappointed. It made the book feel cheapened, not as polished as the others.
This series has its ups and downs, and for me, this book is definitely one of the downs. However, I am finally, for the first time in five years, set up to read the final book. I can only hope there is some actual content in the last one.