Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

This was heartbreaking. Bujold (understandably) side-stepped Aral's death in the last novel, but here, with the focus on Cordelia, it's unavoidable, but here it, and Cordelia's processing of it, take centre stage. Cordelia and Jole's attempts to rebuild their lives after his death is noble, and challenging, and allows the strength of their characters to be revealed. Some of the revelations, including those that require us to revisit old character relationships, might be a bit shocking to some readers, but they do fit with what our previous understanding of these characters were.

With its smaller scope and the fact that it eschews the action/adventure plotlines Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen works well on its own as a meditation on loss, mourning, and self-discovery, while also fitting perfectly in with the rest of the series in a manner that feels like an epilogue as much as a next chapter.