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Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Medical content, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Abortion
I kept it together until the very last line, when Burrich called him his son. BRUH😭
What a feat this book was. The reader truly feels pulled in every direction right alongside Fitz, and although you may not always agree with his decisions or actions, you deeply understand them. The court politics are a scheming web, the romance is tumultuous, the Raiders are relentless, the lore of the Wit and the Skill are evasive, and through it all is a young man who has absolutely no idea who he is.
I need to have it in writing that Fitz is dense as fuck when it comes to Molly. I could not STAND the way he conducted himself in their relationship, down to their last conversation (she’s pregnant, right? Like it’s so obvious). If they had talked more than they fucked (if he would use her mind as comfort the way he did her body), most of their conflict would have been avoided. But he is yet simply a teenage boy 🙄 also, the interconnectedness between Fitz and Verity got so weird…made me very uncomfy when they would…overlap when it came to their women. Same with Nighteyes. I could have done without that “perfect” night…
Anyway. I also kind of saw the Rosemary twist coming, given how often Hobb would mention where she was and what she was doing. But Will is SCARY!
Kettricken and the Fool literally have to be okay, there’s no other feasible option in my mind.
All in all, obviously the book is fantastic and does NOT suffer from middle book syndrome - *in Tyra Banks’ voice* “fantasy authors, LEARN FROM THIS!” As always, there was not a misplaced sentence or a storyline that didn’t matter. Every description and conversation and thought propels this book into the greatness that it is.
There’s nothing to do now than to pick up the last book…I’m scared.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Child death, Torture
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, War
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, Murder, War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault
I cry for Fitz
I cry for Heart of the Pack
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Death, Infertility, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Rape
Graphic: Violence, Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Dementia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Pregnancy
It also helps to read from the perspective of the character at a much older age writing the going on of himself at a younger age.
Burrich and Chade have so much highlighted quotes that stood out to me.
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood
Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical content, Death of parent
Picking up this book, it wasn't long before everything felt a little tangled and then repetitive. Phrases and information were repeated over and over through the chapters and once I noticed them, I couldn't not notice them.
Then there was the treatment of the female characters in the book. Characters that, in the first book, had been strong, defined individuals with their own motives and energy, quickly became lackluster, one dimensional characters that existed only for the men in their lives. Or, towards the end, to have Fitz tell them what to do.
Molly, who we had met as a child in the first book, who lived a rich (albeit tragic) life of her own in the city, quickly became relegated to existing in her room in the castle, where she waited to have sex with Fitz.
And Kettricken had 2 chapters where she became a powerhouse of a character. But in these chapters she only became that way because there weren't any men immediately there to stop her. As soon as men were around her, she essentially just did as she was told, in between pining to have sex with her husband so she could get pregnant. The moments where she did blossom and become more of the character we'd seen previously only happened because Fitz existed to bolster her. This was a woman who, in the previous book, we were told had so many practical skills. So many hobbies and dreams and a staunch belief in herself and her role in life. And now she was broken down to an empty shell? Just a tool to continue the lineage of the royal family?
That might have been an interesting character development, but when mirroring Molly's sudden religation to "sex toy" for the majority of the book, it just didn't hit right.
Speaking of Molly and Kettricken, the way these women's boundaries were just walked all over by the men in this book was so uncomfortable to read. From Fitz mentally replacing Molly with the queen in his bed because he'd shared minds with Verity whilst he was having sex with Kettricken, to Fitz giving control over his body to his wolf and the wolf having sex with Molly. On the one hand, I can understand from a narrative perspective what these moments are for but from a personal perspective? It just felt gross to read. Especially when neither were something I expected from this book given how the series had gone so far.
I could go on and on, from us not getting to see much if any assassin work from this assassin, to the majority of better moments of the book being set outside of the castle. I just felt let down by the whole experience overall.
It's frustrating because I am still intrigued by the politics of the world, some characters and how things might be tied up but I felt like this book was about 250pages too long. It felt like it hadn't seen much of an editor (which, I feel, is backed up by the bloating of repitition and several grammar and spelling mistakes throughout) and knowing the third book is almost 900pages long, I just don't know if I have it in me any time soon to battle through it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment