I was drawn to this book because it reminded me of one of my own story ideas (actually two of them – I’m a sucker for assassin characters and queens, apparently). While it was an entertaining read at the beginning, the world and characters felt flat and there was far more telling than showing and the pacing at the end. wtf?
Everything felt very surface level: Lia’s “threat” to expose Xania didn’t feel like it held much power; characters and plot points were dropped in when convenient, rather than built up to. I can barely picture the characters at all because there was little to no description (Xania is POC I think? based on a few passing mentions of her skin color and hair texture from her own POV). While mildly less infuriating, it reminded me somewhat of Throne of Glass, which I reviewed in 2016 (the last time this blog was active lol). There were several times when I would turn back a page or two to see if I had missed some sort of action or explanation (I never had).
Chapters are very short, which keeps things moving quickly, but doesn’t allow for much depth. They all seem to end on Poignant Last Lines, which makes none of them seem important. Plus who’s letting these teenagers be in charge of a country without any supervision or input from adults? am I old now? I might be too old for YA now, huh? How is Xania installing all of these agents? Where are they coming from? When is she sleeping?sleep is important, kids
Apparently I have more Thoughts than I expected. Also, the single quotes in the library ebook version killed me.
Vigrante just seems like a Big Bad because our MCs say he’s the Big Bad. Same with Rassa. What’s his motivation? They’re basically just villains because they’re sexist assholes. The Steps are never explained in detail. We get dropped into settings without description or context. Somehow two months pass in the last 7% of the book?
And who doesn’t love a plot that hinges on financial discrepancies and international law?/s It works in things like the Green Bone Saga because it’s not the whole plot. There are interesting characters and dynamics in play. Not so here.
The ending felt real fucking rushed. Saving the Queen with 10% of the book left when the middle sagged until empty romance and boring attempts at intrigue? Pacing. Is. Important. It almost seems like it was set up to be a duology, the author gave up on that halfway through, and tried to rush to the ending. If there were another book, the introduction of some many new characters and settings right at the end might? have made sense.
I stumbled across this thread from Briston Brooks today and it really sums up my experience with this book. Click through for the whole thread – definitely worth it: (Also be sure to check out downthread specifically addressing BIPOC authors)
Writing tip: let’s talk about the INACTIVE PROTAGONIST. I’ve seen a lot of amazing books lately with incredible plots, intricate worlds, and just really great writing with one recurring issue, which is the inactive protagonist. I think it can get tough when you’re writing (1/10)
— Briston Brooks | OCD and ADHD (@briston_brooks) January 26, 2021
Things just keep happening to these characters, but also it seems like the entire book is in their (very flat, pretty boring) heads. Their POVs were difficult to distinguish between – often I would be surprised that Lia and/or Xania would be mentioned by name because I thought I was reading from their POV. doesn’t help that both of them have protective mothers and dead fathers…
2.5 Cups of Tea (and I apparently never made that graphic, so you’re getting 2 instead).
