This is the one I read first. After zipping through this one (I couldn't put it down!) I quickly found the rest in the series. You don't have to read them in order. She is very good at recapping major events without spoilers. She doesn't summarize past books, like so many other authors and honestly, having read several of the other books now, I don't feel like I was missing anything by reading this one first. The other main characters were briefly introduced, their stories mentioned and that's it. I really enjoyed the way she refers to past books, without really giving you information. It really made me want to go read the other books. And then, when I did read one of those mentioned things, I recognized it as I'm reading it and it makes it even more enjoyable. Very clever and witty throughout. This is my favorite book so far, I'm planning on reading it again as soon as I finish book 4.