It causes me to recall how it’s been said that queer relationships (or minorities, in general, to be fair) on TV are only added in for diversity points, and thus invalid. If any part of this book was meant to make the reader more invested in their relationship, I can’t say that it worked.
There was no reason to root for them or think they were a good match or anything of the sort, and we barely get to see them on the page together anyways. While I thought Zan and Aurelia’s relationship dynamics were actually pretty believable in this book, we didn’t get to see the trials they went through together in the prior months, so I once again didn’t care about their relationship at all. So much happened during the skip that had a massive effect on the characters and changed their relationships drastically, which can leave readers feeling off-kilter. The time jump is massive and unnecessary, as we moved slowly enough through Greythorne that it could have been shortened so we could actually experience some of those events rather than see the aftermath and be expected to feel something. Throughout the first third of the book, I was left utterly confused and wondering if I’d really forgotten the last quarter of Bloodleaf. The amount of character death/resurrection in this entire series is hard to take seriously. Nothing about this is groundbreaking, but I must give credit where credit is due. I also appreciate the bits about the Achlevan refugees, and the treatment they received from the townspeople. That being said, there were a bunch of characters that I couldn’t have cared less about, such as the yawn-inducing Arceneaux, so I wouldn’t consider this the strongest point of the novel. I appreciated her screw-ups, considering she’s a teenager, and we do dumb shit sometimes. Aurelia herself is a very believable character, and a decent, if basic protagonist. I actually ended up liking plenty of the characters, such as Onal and Kellan. The magic is blood-based, which is cool because blood, and it was nice that it played a large role in the plot.Ĭompared to Bloodleaf, some side characters got more time in the limelight and turned out to be very interesting characters on their own. In the last half or so of the story, I’d definitely say this is Greythorne’s strongest attribute. There were many twists and new insights that fleshed out the world a little more each time. The plot is hazy in the beginning, to say the least, which we’ll get to, but it gets interesting by the end. I enjoyed some of her turns of phrase, such as when she described the names of the Canary girls as “glittering jewels dripping through your fingers” or something to that effect. Smith’s writing style is very clear and persuasive and kept me reading even when uninterested in the characters.
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