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A review by chasinggrace
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
This entire review will contain spoilers - you’ve been repelled!
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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