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A review by squishysnail
Stalking Darkness by Lynn Flewelling
4.0
A satisfactory ending to the first arc of Alec and Seregil's adventures.
The pacing was just right and the action picks up in the second book. More dramatic events happen and there is less exposition which allows the story to flow faster.
I love that the story is not dragged on over multiple volumes. Yes, there are more books to this series, but there was a conclusion in the second book and it was suitably dramatic.
It was a little confusing when I started seeing more narrative from the perspective of other characters but I suppose that is the standard nowadays for fantasy: POVs from multiple views.
I found myself uninterested in the point of views of the other characters and had to stop myself from willfully skipping over narratives, especially Beka's narrative which I found boring.
There is more relationship development between Alec and Seregil in this book, but it is written charmingly. If you do not like ANY mushy elements in your fantasy, you might be put off by this.
That being said, I am one of those readers who really hates reading fantasy novels that are heavy handed with the romance elements. I definitely did not get that impression from this book. A lot of the story is focused on the adventure that the main characters embark upon to defend their monarchy/country and the romance between the characters complements the story.
There are no real surprise twists to this story and the plot was predictable. This is not a bad thing. A good fantasy does not need to be original or unique. It can be good, rollicking fun even when it follows a tried and tested formula.
This book was definitely an enjoyable read.
The pacing was just right and the action picks up in the second book. More dramatic events happen and there is less exposition which allows the story to flow faster.
I love that the story is not dragged on over multiple volumes. Yes, there are more books to this series, but there was a conclusion in the second book and it was suitably dramatic.
It was a little confusing when I started seeing more narrative from the perspective of other characters but I suppose that is the standard nowadays for fantasy: POVs from multiple views.
I found myself uninterested in the point of views of the other characters and had to stop myself from willfully skipping over narratives, especially Beka's narrative which I found boring.
There is more relationship development between Alec and Seregil in this book, but it is written charmingly. If you do not like ANY mushy elements in your fantasy, you might be put off by this.
That being said, I am one of those readers who really hates reading fantasy novels that are heavy handed with the romance elements. I definitely did not get that impression from this book. A lot of the story is focused on the adventure that the main characters embark upon to defend their monarchy/country and the romance between the characters complements the story.
There are no real surprise twists to this story and the plot was predictable. This is not a bad thing. A good fantasy does not need to be original or unique. It can be good, rollicking fun even when it follows a tried and tested formula.
This book was definitely an enjoyable read.