A review by thaliareads
Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a re-read for me. I really enjoy this book in the series because it is where Daine really starts to realize that the world and its people aren't so black and white. The Stormwings have their reasons for their actions, the Carthaki emperor may be a bad man but he cares deeply for his birds, and the Young Prince may have been raised with ideals that Daine doesn't understand but he cares deeply for his people. 

This book is the one in the series where Daine's actual age begins to bother me. As she starts to contemplate romance, those around her are noticeably her elder. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Animal cruelty, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

The Carthaki do still have slavery, but it has been outlawed in most other places.

Daine starts to become jealous of Numair's attachments to old flames, and he begins to behave similarly. While there is no clear romance between the two occurring in this book it is the start. At this point Daine is probably around 15 and Numair is somewhere in his mid 20s early 30s I'd guess. While the feelings are returned it's still weird that she's so young.