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aether_seawo1f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism and War
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Rape, Slavery, Animal death, and Kidnapping
musen_henning's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Child abuse, War, and Child death
booksthatburn's review
- 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
4.5
The worldbuilding leans into a details of the tournaments and the role of the King's Own, folding in Kel's lessons on tactics and strategy from her knight-master. There are references to things learned in previous books and other series set within Tortall, which help give a feeling of depth for those who have read those earlier stories. It's a character-focused story, with references to what Kel is learning and how she's thinking about the information, punctuated by action scenes when she's in training or combat.
I like Raoul as her knight-master, their rapport feels easy and her admiration for him shines through. She sees much less of her friends as they continue their training at the Palace or have knight-masters of their own to follow around Tortall. The plot focuses on the inglorious and brutal work of defending peasants, killing bandits, and dealing with the increasing forays of Scanran raiders. Kel also starts to solidify her own ideas of justice and the ways that the current laws and customs fail those they're meant to protect. She's also figuring out what she wants from love and relationships, finding herself in a romance filled with long separations.
Kel sounds a bit older than she did in PAGE, with her narration on the page finally tracking her age better than it did in FIRST TEST. The story could make sense if someone started here without having read the first two books. There's a more robust storyline here during her time as a squire, and while the resolutions to past bullying and harassment won't be quite as satisfying without knowledge from earlier, there are sufficient and succinct explanations which let the events make sense anyway. Such a reader would miss out on the sense of how much she's grown up, but as she learns and matures even within this volume they might not miss too badly the early parts of that journey. I do still recommend reading the quartet from the beginning, since at times it feels like one single long book that just happens to be broken into parts. There's a lot of overlap of timelines, since the books are divided based on Kel's status on her journey to knighthood, and the events around her refuse to be so neatly confined.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical content, Animal death, and Excrement
Minor: Slavery, Sexual content, Confinement, Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Bullying, Ableism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment
inferiorwit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Vomit, Child death, Death, Violence, Animal death, Sexism, Misogyny, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
charm0nix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Bullying and Sexism
Minor: Rape
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
As with the other two books we don't really see Kel change at all. Sure, she gets taller (she's 5'10'' !), but her voice is still exactly the same. I think it would have been interesting to see her mentally and emotionally mature as well, but since she grew up with the Yamani people she was already more mature for her age. Still, it's been difficult to actually view her as the ages indicated due to this.
This book definitely has a lot more action, and grander setting than the first two. Since Kel is training under a knight she is traveling all over the realm. It would have been nice to hear a bit more about the individuality of the villages and cities they were in, since it was quite glossed over.
Between the action can be dull. Since we go through 4 years in this book we have a lot of telling instead of showing. We can have over half a year be summarized in just a few pages. They definitely saw a lot of fighting, but we'll just hear one or two sentences about it and move on. Obviously you can't talk in detail about everything that happens, but it does feel a bit strange.
The reason I say Kel is a juggernaut is that she is obviously so much more useful than a majority of the people in this book. She can do no wrong, and always does what is right and needed for the situation. She seems flawless at this point, and I actually found it a bit annoying at a few moments. Even the climax, which this entire book built up to, was just a blip because of how perfect she is.
Regardless, I did enjoy this one more than the other two. I'm looking forward to finishing this series, and I hope we see more of the human side of Kel in the final book.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit, Sexual violence, Rape, and Kidnapping
manarnia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Animal death
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Vomit
meganpbennett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, and Bullying
Minor: Vomit