The first 100 or so pages of this book are just a recap of the previous book, The Rowan, written in a diary style with no creative spark at all; anyone who had read the first book could have written them. It briefly gets more interesting as it describes the child Damia growing up. In the next section, where she is an adult, it all goes wrong. Badly written, with poor grammar, and a boring style. There are odd mistakes, too, such as the mention of another sibling, Ezro, who was never actually introduced.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Anne McCaffrey had written only part, or even none, of this book. It is a huge disappointment to me and I won't be reading the sequel even though I've got it.
The first book in the series is not bad, but also suffers from inconsistency and drags on a bit towards the end.
My conclusion is that if you want a good McCaffrey book, stick to her earlier work, which is always entertaining and often excellent.