I didn't realize this was the 5th book in a series. Although the character development was probably much more substantial in earlier books, I don't think the fact that it was so far into a series had much of an effect on my reading (or listening in my case) experience. I thought the story was fantastic! I wasn't able to predict every twist which was a happy surprise. I also enjoyed that the characters were flawed but not so much that I hated them. They were normal flaws which was refreshing.