I'm not sure it does, really. Auri is a character from his other books, so having read them would give you a view of *who* the person she's excited about seeing is, but honestly it only really matters that she is excited to see someone. And if you're expecting epic fantasy of the style of his other books, you might be even more disappointed in this one, so it could well be a hindrance.

But I guess maybe having read and enjoyed Name of the Wind & Wise Man's Fear you'd be more inclined to give a strange atmospheric short novel a try, so maybe it helps a bit? It's part of why I gave this a shot (although, actually, it was hearing him speak at PAX last year that made me care enough about what he writes to be curious).