Week 23

It’s!!! June!!! Apparently!!! We are rapidly approaching the midpoint of the year! This is fine! Everything is fine!

In other news, I got my first jab of the vaccine, so I look forward to being able to rejoin society some day.

This week: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

#36) CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo

So, I did technically read this after KING OF SCARS, and therefore, had some spoilers about some elements of the story. Oops.

Regardless, I still found this to be a pretty fun ride. It’s a good follow-up to SIX OF CROWS, and it continues the journeys of the characters pretty well. I liked the further developments of the relationships, as well; despite the fact that the book takes place over only a few days, the characters really feel like a team here, and I enjoyed the found family vibes.

Other things I liked: Jesper being more front-and-centre, learning more about him and his backstory; Inej and Nina’s friendship; cameos from characters from the original trilogy; someone finally asks the question “where are your parents” which made me laugh out loud.

In my mind, this is a satisfying ending to the duology, but I’d also be interested in learning more about where these characters go from here. Obviously, Nina is a main character in the next duology as well, but I’d love to see more of what becomes of Inej. I suppose I’ll keep my fingers crossed that she shows up in RULE OF WOLVES, which I also have from the library at this very moment.

Things I wish would have been a bit different: I could have had more time given to Jesper’s development, and the fact that people don’t typically get over addictions easily. It’s not necessarily implied that he does, but it seems very much like a side-concern. Also, I could have done with more exploration of Kaz’s touch-aversion, and that this is not actually a flaw but a trauma response. CROOKED KINGDOM definitely deals with this better than SIX OF CROWS, but I still would have liked a little more.

#37) FIREHEART TIGER by Aliette de Bodard

Good little sapphic political intrigue story.

As with many stories of this length (coming in at about 50 pages on my e-reader), I could really have done with a lot more of this story! I felt as though some of the plot developments, as well as character relationships, happened a bit fast, and I felt as though the pacing struck a little oddly as a result.

Still, I really liked all the characters, and the glimpses of the world gained through their interactions. I liked the overall themes, and though the story is short, I think it does do a pretty good job of exploring those.