http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2019-12.html#saintcrow ( )

I really loved The Hedgewitch Queen, book #1 in this series. A bit like Maria V. Snyder's writing it was just charming and fast-paced enough to have your undivided attention till the very end of the book.

However, The Bandit King is written from Tristan's point of view, so there is no Vianne's input only his descriptions of her actions which makes the book pretty dry and emotionally exhausting. He goes through some really deep, painful feelings, gets his heart broken and all his hopes crushed.

Tristan loves Vianne to the point of obsession, he'll die for her, starves for her attention and will kill in her name without any hesitation. There is nothing else for him apart from her. He has loved her from afar for years before conquering her heart, so when she finds out that he is the one who killed the old King, - for her it's a huge betrayal, oath breaking and treason. She doesn't know him anymore, she tries to distance herself and re-evaluate her feelings.

However, she can not afford it. The gods approved of their marriage, the country is at war and the Seal she owns works at its full strength only with Tristan nearby. So this coldness, distrust between them leads to despair from Tris's side and an urgent need to redeem himself in Vianne's eyes.

The one thing that makes an otherwise awkward book a very interesting read is battle sequences and one epic duel. Oh my God, one thing you can't take away from Lily, - she knows her war stuff well. I loved it!

Overall, not Lily's best book, it reads tortuously slow, and I almost gave up on Tris few times, but there are few epic moments in it and the ending is pretty decent.

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Book one was borderline for me, and now experiencing all the same drama from the hero's perspective just seems like too much work to be worth it.

A strong end to the duology beginning with The Hedgewitch Queen. However, my issues were more with Tristan than the story. I found him to be a hard protagonist to like, or sympathize with, and was wishing Vianne would toss him off by the end. The ending was not a surprise, which was a little unfortunate, but still worth a read, especially as a different slant for Saintcrow. ( )