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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
The large number of unfamiliar names, titles, terms, and culture sometimes became confusing, but after muddling through the more confusing sections, I enjoyed the world-building, characters, and slightly slice-of-life story progression. I enjoyed watching our main character grow and learn to make his way in his new position of power while still following his own principles to the best of his ability.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Probably will pick this up again sometime, but I'm currently more excited for other books to feel like continuing.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this because it was recommended as an excellent standalone by somebody on Youtube. I did not agree :( DO NOT LISTEN to the audiobook!! It's emphatically not the narrator's fault, and in fact, he does an admirable job pronouncing all the horrifically long and similar names. And he does voices, so even though you can't remember anyone's names, you can tell them apart by voice. Instead, prepare to read with your eyeballs, a pronunciation guide, and a notebook for writing down who the fuck everyone is that you can constantly reference. It's worse that Gideon the Ninth, even, in terms of number of characters with weird names you have to tell apart. I tried to stop and look up plot summaries, spellings of some of the names, guides to the language -- everything. And it did not help. NOT an easy or fun read in that regard.
It's an easy read in that nothing much happens plotwise. I was ready to DNF at the 80% mark, so you know that's bad. I thought, "well, at least find out about the murder mystery." Now at 90%, I think we've heard the big reveal? And I honestly still don't know who did it or why. Don't care. Really sad it didn't live up to its mystery premise. What it is is cozy, good-guy vibes with a minor scuffle here and there across 400 pages. Plus the construction of 1 bridge, for some reason? Yeah.
Everything happens off the page, as well. The major plot revelations for the conspiring nobles happens in a letter sent by another character we've met once before, and in another city! Maia has to hear everything second-hand with a million names and etiquette to follow. It removes you from the action, and even puts you at a disadvantage compared to Maia as he's been able to ask questions about the complexities of the situation, again, off the page. That's also why I don't buy the argument that the difficulty & number of the names being thrown at you is to portray the confusion Maia feels when he's dropped into the situation. Maybe for the first 20% of the book that would be acceptable, but it never improves, even as Maia grows into his role.
For the characterization, I really thought there would be more commentary about the difference between goblins and elves. I could not tell you, now even after finishing the book, which characters are which. I only know Maia is half and half. But, it never seemed to affect him as King. The only interesting thing was that you could tell characters' feelings through the position of their ears, like dogs. This type of dynamic was pulled off MUCH better in the Cruel Prince series, really highlighting the difference between humans and faeries. I was hoping for something similar with this plot, but I don't think the book had much to say about it.
So yeah, it wasn't TERRIBLE, but I was terribly disappointed.
It's an easy read in that nothing much happens plotwise. I was ready to DNF at the 80% mark, so you know that's bad. I thought, "well, at least find out about the murder mystery." Now at 90%, I think we've heard the big reveal? And I honestly still don't know who did it or why. Don't care. Really sad it didn't live up to its mystery premise. What it is is cozy, good-guy vibes with a minor scuffle here and there across 400 pages. Plus the construction of 1 bridge, for some reason? Yeah.
Everything happens off the page, as well. The major plot revelations for the conspiring nobles happens in a letter sent by another character we've met once before, and in another city! Maia has to hear everything second-hand with a million names and etiquette to follow. It removes you from the action, and even puts you at a disadvantage compared to Maia as he's been able to ask questions about the complexities of the situation, again, off the page. That's also why I don't buy the argument that the difficulty & number of the names being thrown at you is to portray the confusion Maia feels when he's dropped into the situation. Maybe for the first 20% of the book that would be acceptable, but it never improves, even as Maia grows into his role.
For the characterization, I really thought there would be more commentary about the difference between goblins and elves. I could not tell you, now even after finishing the book, which characters are which. I only know Maia is half and half. But, it never seemed to affect him as King. The only interesting thing was that you could tell characters' feelings through the position of their ears, like dogs. This type of dynamic was pulled off MUCH better in the Cruel Prince series, really highlighting the difference between humans and faeries. I was hoping for something similar with this plot, but I don't think the book had much to say about it.
So yeah, it wasn't TERRIBLE, but I was terribly disappointed.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very enjoyable, but it would have been more so if I hadn't had to deal with a new & complicated etiquette system AND convoluted politics AND unpronounceable names with elaborate rules AND slowly/not revealed background info. (Easier names/naming system would have helped a lot!)