5,0 van 5 sterren
Strong capable leads, intrigue, betrayal, friendship, love… what's not to love?
Beoordeeld in het Verenigd Koninkrijk op 30 september 2019
I really enjoyed this - it’s a continuation of the Broken Lands series, but is a new branch that could be read without reading the first three, although you’d miss a lot of the history, and characters very familiar from the first three books would be strangers. But the background is that the Trateri are the invaders, ruthless, violent, but very human. They’re led by Fallon - super-ruthless, violent and tough, but he meets Shea, who has her own strengths… At least read the first, Pathfinder’s Way - it’s fun! The author writes well, she sets her scenes well, her characters are fully drawn - the book flows and easily holds the interest .
This book is Eva’s, not Shea’s. As the synopsis says, Eva is a tagalong, or, as most Trateri would call her, a throwaway - second class, and dismissed as not worth knowing. Except that Eva does have her friends and protectors, and for her the distinction between being a tagalong - her choice to be there, her decision to join the Trateri, as opposed to a throwaway - taken as a hostage to good behaviour, given up by your own, and most definitely not there by choice - is important. The second classism and resentment of the throwaways is well drawn, but not over-dwelt on.
After a shortish prologue giving an good intro to Eva and how she ends up with the Trateri, she starts the book as an in-the-backgound herd mistress, struggling with the betrayals in her past, who much prefers the company of her four-legged charges to most humans. Circumstances literally force her out from the shadows, into the ambit of powerful, manipulative people and beasties who could crush her without a second thought.
There’s a love story twined through, that’s given plenty of time to develop, and feels totally natural, with some chapters written from other’s points of view, so the reader gets to see Eva as others see her. There are three potential romance interests initially, but it pretty soon becomes clear who’s eye she’s caught. Importantly for me, the romance side doesn’t swamp the overall story, or the characters, and there's no adolescent histrionics. These are battle and life-scarred adults.
This is a lighter book that the last Broken Lands book - there’s a cute foxy beastie who turns up half way through, there’s Caia, who’s a fine character, there’s the mythologicals, there’s friendship, but there’s also fighting and unpleasantness and betrayal. There’s one sex scene that’s not over the top, and fits naturally and well into the plot.
I’ve read this twice now, enjoying it enormously - a strong capable female lead, with an equally strong and capable man, intrigue, mystery, suspicion, betrayal, friendship… what more do you want?
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