Kind of like the last book(s) of Harry Potter, most of the story in this third book takes place outside of the school.

If you take a glimpse at the chapter titles, you can see how El trots around the world to do what she needs to do. In this sense, the third book is more formulaic than the first two in the series, with less deviation from expectations.

Ending spoilers: Kind of like Spinning Silver and Uprooted, Novik gives us a strong, yet poignant ending. It's not a sad ending, but it's also not a rainbow and puppy-dogs, happily-ever-after ending either. It teaches people that your happy ending might not look the way you originally imagined, but it is also not that bad either.