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purplebass 's review for:

The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare
5.0

4.5 stars

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan/Tor and NetGalley UK for letting me read an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

"It is not the poison that kills, but the dose."

I read the first book, Sword Catcher, when it came out two years ago. I admit it that even though I liked it, I wasn't entirely sold. But I trusted Cassandra's writing, and I knew that she would deliver. Well, I am happy to say that this second book convinced me, and I want to know how the story continues. I got a bit attached to the characters too.

The story begins a few months after the events that shook Castellane - both on the hill and in the Sault. The main POV characters are once again Kel and Lin, who offer perspectives from both sides and whose stories intervene and in some ways, mirror each other. In between the chapters there are also shorter POVs from the perspective of other characters, known faces and new ones. I really enjoyed this switch because it let us see a new side to the story. It was like knowing a secret that the main POV characters Kel and Lin didn't know.

There was never a dull moment in this book, and it manages to keep you on your toes until the last page. The pace is what I would define as "balanced", because there was a good balance between plot twists and the general plot/subplots. I also enjoyed how the relationships between the characters (platonic and romantic) developed in this book.

I enjoyed the characters so much. Each character is recognizable and has their own voice, and I liked that we learned more about everyone but at the same time, there are still a lot of secrets to unveil. I was glad that some answers regarding some characters were answered in this book.

I will surely read book 3! There are still a lot of questions to answer and I think that the story just got it started.