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katyanaish's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this one so very much more than the last one... and just blitzed through it. Seriously, I went to sleep at 4:15am this morning, because I literally could not put the book down last night.
This one was entirely set in the Northern Empire, with characters I adore. I'm so glad that I'm reading it after the first 3 books of the House War series, though (as that series says I should, in the notes), because I know who all these characters are, and can't get enough of them.
Slept a few hours after my finish in the wee hours this morning, but am now already 20% into the next book...
This one was entirely set in the Northern Empire, with characters I adore. I'm so glad that I'm reading it after the first 3 books of the House War series, though (as that series says I should, in the notes), because I know who all these characters are, and can't get enough of them.
Slept a few hours after my finish in the wee hours this morning, but am now already 20% into the next book...
nuttkayc's review against another edition
4.0
It was good. But the end, the end got me in the feels. Damn. It should get another half star for the end.
winterreader40's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
We follow Valedan as he prepares for the king's challenge as a way to demonstrate he has skills to the Southerners before he leads an army home to take back his title, sword, and home that was stolen when his family was slaughtered by the men oath sworn to protect them. What he doesn't take into account is how many people will die to protect him while he participates in the challenge. We get to witness him learning the cost of things and growing as he decides how best to handle the challenging situations that come his way.
I really enjoy watching Valedan grow and become wiser and all the people he interacts with from his trainers to his guards to his fellow hostages. We see more of the beginning of the Terafin house war with Jewel and her den as well.
We follow Valedan as he prepares for the king's challenge as a way to demonstrate he has skills to the Southerners before he leads an army home to take back his title, sword, and home that was stolen when his family was slaughtered by the men oath sworn to protect them. What he doesn't take into account is how many people will die to protect him while he participates in the challenge. We get to witness him learning the cost of things and growing as he decides how best to handle the challenging situations that come his way.
I really enjoy watching Valedan grow and become wiser and all the people he interacts with from his trainers to his guards to his fellow hostages. We see more of the beginning of the Terafin house war with Jewel and her den as well.
spiringempress's review
3.0
In a manner similar to its predecessor, West's series is unlike any fantasy book that I have encountered before and there's a lot to admire. West takes chances on her narrative choices and how she advances the plot. This second book focuses on the Northern providences and the power dynamics that are arising as a result of the King's Challenge. Valedan en'Leonne, the last of his clan, has entered the challenge to win valor, but it also attracts the attention of men, who want him dead. It also focuses on Terafin House and its war of succession before the death of its ruler.
While I enjoyed the slow exploration of the political connections and powers within the Northern territories, it is hard to connect this story with the one unfolding in the previous book. For one, it is hard to visualize and even conceptualize the geographic space that these stories are taking place in. This seems to result from the fact that the first and second books take place in separate areas without any references to the other. Valedan is dropped into the north suddenly with little to no reflection on the events of the past book. Therefore, it sometimes seems that the books are taking place at different points in time and it takes a lot to realize that they are operating on the same grand stage.
West also has a tendency to ramble on for paragraphs without identifying the narrator or the perspective. Sometimes, I would start a chapter and be completely oblivious to who the narrator was supposed to be because the only identifying information was a location at the beginning of the chapter, which means nothing to me. More often, I would be twenty pages into a chapter and read a detail that didn't make sense for whose perspective I thought I was reading only to discover that somewhere the perspective had switched with the barest suggestion. As a result, I noticed that the author never referred to the characters by name except for once before only using pronouns for the entirety of the chapter. This was just slightly aggravating.
While I enjoyed the slow exploration of the political connections and powers within the Northern territories, it is hard to connect this story with the one unfolding in the previous book. For one, it is hard to visualize and even conceptualize the geographic space that these stories are taking place in. This seems to result from the fact that the first and second books take place in separate areas without any references to the other. Valedan is dropped into the north suddenly with little to no reflection on the events of the past book. Therefore, it sometimes seems that the books are taking place at different points in time and it takes a lot to realize that they are operating on the same grand stage.
West also has a tendency to ramble on for paragraphs without identifying the narrator or the perspective. Sometimes, I would start a chapter and be completely oblivious to who the narrator was supposed to be because the only identifying information was a location at the beginning of the chapter, which means nothing to me. More often, I would be twenty pages into a chapter and read a detail that didn't make sense for whose perspective I thought I was reading only to discover that somewhere the perspective had switched with the barest suggestion. As a result, I noticed that the author never referred to the characters by name except for once before only using pronouns for the entirety of the chapter. This was just slightly aggravating.
sagali's review
4.0
It is hard to put it down. It is already much better than the 1st book.
Probably because almost all of the story takes place in Averalaan and Jewel is my favourite character.
Probably because almost all of the story takes place in Averalaan and Jewel is my favourite character.
spiringempress's review against another edition
3.0
In a manner similar to its predecessor, West's series is unlike any fantasy book that I have encountered before and there's a lot to admire. West takes chances on her narrative choices and how she advances the plot. This second book focuses on the Northern providences and the power dynamics that are arising as a result of the King's Challenge. Valedan en'Leonne, the last of his clan, has entered the challenge to win valor, but it also attracts the attention of men, who want him dead. It also focuses on Terafin House and its war of succession before the death of its ruler.
While I enjoyed the slow exploration of the political connections and powers within the Northern territories, it is hard to connect this story with the one unfolding in the previous book. For one, it is hard to visualize and even conceptualize the geographic space that these stories are taking place in. This seems to result from the fact that the first and second books take place in separate areas without any references to the other. Valedan is dropped into the north suddenly with little to no reflection on the events of the past book. Therefore, it sometimes seems that the books are taking place at different points in time and it takes a lot to realize that they are operating on the same grand stage.
West also has a tendency to ramble on for paragraphs without identifying the narrator or the perspective. Sometimes, I would start a chapter and be completely oblivious to who the narrator was supposed to be because the only identifying information was a location at the beginning of the chapter, which means nothing to me. More often, I would be twenty pages into a chapter and read a detail that didn't make sense for whose perspective I thought I was reading only to discover that somewhere the perspective had switched with the barest suggestion. As a result, I noticed that the author never referred to the characters by name except for once before only using pronouns for the entirety of the chapter. This was just slightly aggravating.
While I enjoyed the slow exploration of the political connections and powers within the Northern territories, it is hard to connect this story with the one unfolding in the previous book. For one, it is hard to visualize and even conceptualize the geographic space that these stories are taking place in. This seems to result from the fact that the first and second books take place in separate areas without any references to the other. Valedan is dropped into the north suddenly with little to no reflection on the events of the past book. Therefore, it sometimes seems that the books are taking place at different points in time and it takes a lot to realize that they are operating on the same grand stage.
West also has a tendency to ramble on for paragraphs without identifying the narrator or the perspective. Sometimes, I would start a chapter and be completely oblivious to who the narrator was supposed to be because the only identifying information was a location at the beginning of the chapter, which means nothing to me. More often, I would be twenty pages into a chapter and read a detail that didn't make sense for whose perspective I thought I was reading only to discover that somewhere the perspective had switched with the barest suggestion. As a result, I noticed that the author never referred to the characters by name except for once before only using pronouns for the entirety of the chapter. This was just slightly aggravating.
laurla's review against another edition
"there should have been rain, storm, something that showed the displeasure of the heavens at the unjust, the unfair, the unacceptable passing of a decent woman. there should have been mourning, and if not that, than at least weather drizzly and gray enough to keep people from good cheer and ease."
"loss - it was the worst thing. the thing she hated most. even speaking about it was somehow letting it in. but she discovered that the strength of her loss was selfish, centered around her own fear and her own rage; discovered, to her surprise and her dismay, that she was not the only member of Terafin that somehow felt a gesture must be made."
"do not fight in anger. you become anger's weapon; it is never yours."
"better to look like a fool than to be one."
"we all desire things that we feel in our hearts we should not desire. it isn't the desire that defines us. never that. it's only the action."
"to beat weaklings and fools is the sport of weaklings and fools."
"you no longer have the comfort of such naivete."
"perhaps this is the most important lesson you will learn from this. you have made the commitment; you must continue it now, with grace, and if you are not pleased with the commitment itself, learn from it for the future."
"loss - it was the worst thing. the thing she hated most. even speaking about it was somehow letting it in. but she discovered that the strength of her loss was selfish, centered around her own fear and her own rage; discovered, to her surprise and her dismay, that she was not the only member of Terafin that somehow felt a gesture must be made."
"do not fight in anger. you become anger's weapon; it is never yours."
"better to look like a fool than to be one."
"we all desire things that we feel in our hearts we should not desire. it isn't the desire that defines us. never that. it's only the action."
"to beat weaklings and fools is the sport of weaklings and fools."
"you no longer have the comfort of such naivete."
"perhaps this is the most important lesson you will learn from this. you have made the commitment; you must continue it now, with grace, and if you are not pleased with the commitment itself, learn from it for the future."
saerryc's review against another edition
3.0
Game of Thrones-ish political battles, but with more demons, and also with a big tournament arc. West is good at writing characters (she should honestly be a standard recommendation for “books with good female characters” threads) and the plot is interesting enough that I will continue to book three, which is a pretty good indication of quality given these books’ length. Still, there are a lot of little things about West’s writing (like her lack of dialogue tags!) that make this harder to read than it needs to be and push my rating down to a 3.5ish. I did get a kick out of reaching a “can they get rid of the demons infesting the marathon course before the runners get there” cliffhanger (this isn’t really a spoiler since it’s what a good chunk of the book is about) the night before I ran one myself.
kmj91's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars, a slower book in this series but still a good one
With the Dominion of Annagar leaderless and the Terafin losing political authority, this book enters something of a holding pattern while the Annagarians host a contest to determine their next ruler and the Aterafins fall into infighting to determine who will succeed the Terafin. The political machinations and danger from allies who are scheming for power drives a lot of the tension of this book which helps make it a stronger story than it could have been in less experienced hands. As ever, West's character work is fantastic it's great seeing Jewel really find her footing as a leader.
With the Dominion of Annagar leaderless and the Terafin losing political authority, this book enters something of a holding pattern while the Annagarians host a contest to determine their next ruler and the Aterafins fall into infighting to determine who will succeed the Terafin. The political machinations and danger from allies who are scheming for power drives a lot of the tension of this book which helps make it a stronger story than it could have been in less experienced hands. As ever, West's character work is fantastic it's great seeing Jewel really find her footing as a leader.