That’s funny, I just finished Bands of Mourning today myself and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised with era 2. I understand people’s complaints of it but I didn’t mind it at all and thought the stakes were actually pretty damnation high lol. For me I liked them in chronological order from least to most favorite. I definitely think Wayne was the most annoying in the third book and Steris did kinda just sit there a lot in the end, but the tense moments and twists at the end really made it for me. I started really getting attached to the characters by the second book. I also went in with low expectations off of what I’ve heard so I think that is why I ended up enjoying it so much. I still like era 1 better probably, but I also can’t wait for book 4 and era 3!
