Week 7

You know what’s hard?

Writing.

You know what’s less hard?

Reading some really excellent books!

#9: THE QUEEN OF NOTHING by Holly Black

Hell. Yes.

Having come to the end of this series, I can now say with some authority that it met all of my expectations and was exactly what I wanted it to be, by which I mean a political intrigue infused at times with drama and romance.

The fae setting works perfectly for this, and I loved watching the characters navigate not only the rules of the court but also the rules that the fae are bound to. The story also rides the line between characters who are realistically inhuman while still giving them recognizable aspects so that they are not entirely alien.

I do think in some respects that this final book tied the story up a little too neatly; without giving too much away, the main character gets basically everything that she wants and doesn’t, actually, have to live with any difficult choices, nor do any of the people she directly cares about.

However, I’m also a sucker for a happy ending, so that didn’t massively affect my enjoyment of the book. If anything, it helped; this is a good time for escapism. I want to engage with stories in which everything works out.

Anyway, if you want high court drama, I heartily recommend picking up this series. I would read many more books in this series if they were available.

#10: WHEN THE TIGER CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN by Nghi Vo

I liked “The Empress of Salt and Fortune” so much that I was a little nervous about picking this one up. I shouldn’t have worried, as this sequel did not disappoint.

We follow Chih the story-collector again, and this time, they are in danger; they must recite a story before a group of tigers who wish to eat them and their companions. Meanwhile, the tigers have their own version of the story.

While I don’t think I enjoyed this quite as well as the first (it’s not as epic a story), I really liked the interplay between Chih and the tigers, and I liked the opportunity to get to know more about this world.