A review by waclements7
Weaver's Lament by Emma Newman

4.0

Aargh! What a place to end. To be fair, it’s not a cliffhanger, really, except for— I really am wanting the next book. I think it would have helped to re-read Brother’s Ruin before starting this, because it took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, it was awesome. I am not so fond of Ben as I was, and I think Charlotte—hope—she realizes that a time may come when their being siblings isn’t as important to him being a Magus. And Magus Hopkins v. George? Oh dear. I really like the way that Newman portrayed the mill work in such a realistic fashion. The added interference only emphasizes how inhumane the situation was for factory workers during the Industrial Revolution (and actually still is for garment workers in many countries). The fact that Ben knows all of this and it doesn’t really matter to him makes me think I’m not going to like his character for much longer. But his transformation from someone weak and powerless to someone who is gaining control and respect, regardless of the cost or consequences to others, is really well done. He explains his perspective quite coherently, and it all makes sense—to him. Charlotte is still much smarter than him, however, and the fact that she figures out the issue at much risk to herself (that really made me want to bop Ben’s head against a loom) shows that the “higher ups” often can’t get things solved because they aren’t willing to get down and do the work themselves. And what is Project 84?