Rhonda Mason

I'm pretty disgusted. It started out so well. Characters were interesting, I was invested in Kayla quite quickly, and the story was good.

(Spoilers ahead)
The problem I have with it is that Malkor is a reprehensible shit and he's being written as a nice love interest. I can't forgive him for how he forces Kayla into situations all the time, including revealing her identity. But most of all for threatening her brother. He says he doesn't want to use her brother as leverage, "don't look at me like that Kayla, you know I don't want to do it". WTF, you already did it. You threatened her brother. I can't forgive him, and if I can't, then it's absolutely ridiculously that Kayla let's him off the hook so easily. He keeps on giving off abuser vibes, and then she falls for him. I'm utterly disgusted by it. She never breaks down the entire book, but for the one time when she tells him how badly she doesn't want to impersonate Isonde. So when she wants to leave, he tries to guild trip her into staying, because he needs her (which he doesn't). The woman he loves doesn't want to live a life that isn't hers, where she will be married to his friend and won't be able to have much contact with him anyway, she doesn't want to live a life that made her break down sobbing, and your reaction is 'You should have included me in the decision so i could talk you out of it'(because his track record of letting her decide things is great) and 'you are choosing your brothers over me?' This man is beyond disgusting, and why are we supposed to like him?

Also, the book is all over the place at the end. There were really too many things happening.… (meer)

This series is definitely getting better, the first book was fun, but this was a little more serious, and a little better for it. The plot seems to be coming together pretty well, things both got more complicated, and felt like they were heading towards a plausible, if maybe messy, resolution. Very enjoyable, and I'll be eager to read the third one and find out how it all resolves. Given certain other books I've recently read, it's worth taking a moment to note that in this series that I can believe in and can find respect for, or at least interest in, even some of the characters I wouldn't say I quite liked. Complexity, folks. It makes such a difference when you have even a smidgen of it.....… (meer)