Reviews

which amused me greatly. But this is the first time I felt the story was longer than it needed to be. Significantly longer.

Fitz spends a lot of time being stupid and making terrible decisions. Which, considering all he's been through and the fact this is literally the first time he's been on his own to make his own decisions, I guess it could have been worse. Still, the result is that this meandered a bit and it's not until halfway through that he finally gets his butt into gear to seek out Verity.

Since Fitz likes to spoil things ahead of time (these three books are his memoirs), you already know certain things going into this book, which didn't stop me from hoping he wasn't being entirely truthful. But Fitz isn't exactly an unreliable narrator, unfortunately, so those hopes were dashed. I can't say I'm disappointed about some of it.

I never really saw him and Molly working out, but I'd hoped he'd at least get to know his daughter at some point, but it doesn't seem likely. He does adopt a kid, so at least that need is seen to.

I was also frustrated that Fitz didn't realize that

that one convo with the Fool was totally the coterie spying through him. Thankfully, Verity knew and told them. And thankfully, Burrich and Molly were up to the task. And I figured Burrich and Molly would end up together, and that's probably for the best. I don't really agree with keeping Fitz being alive away from them, but it is what it is. Oh, and Verity using Fitz's body to sire an heir with the queen was pretty squicky, ngl. Only the fact that it saved Fitz's and Molly's daughter from being used for the throne ... actually, no, that doesn't make it better.

The story went a little off the rails near the end and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It felt a little too fantastical in this world of wit bonds and Skilling. Sure, some of them can talk to each other and some to animals, and there are the zombies, but there wasn't really much in the way of magic. Then suddenly,

Verity turned into a dragon. Then he flies off to save the day off-page.

🤷🏻‍♀️ It kind of felt out of nowhere, and the Skill road was very plot convenient. The ending also has a very melancholy feel to it, not just because of where it leaves Fitz at the end of the adventure, but in how Fitz speaks about it looking back on everything. He deserves a better fate.

Looking at future titles, it seems like the Fool and Fitz might pair up for more adventures, so I'm hoping those will be more fun, but I don't know what I'll get to them.

Paul Boehmer did great with the audio, once again.

rkaufman13's review against another edition

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4.0

Read it, didn't hate it. Less bad than the last one, which is saying something, I swear.
The ending was...I don't know. More deus ex machina and yet less satisfying than it should have been--in other words, if you're just gonna pull some crazy hand-waving magic out of your butt to finish the book, why shouldn't Fitz then also

Spoiler

get the girl and everything he wants?

A strange combo for sure. And also....screw you, Goodreads list of bromance books.

edocrave's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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

4.5

readbubbles's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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