soinavoice's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyable! I agree with the reviewers who said they ending felt a bit rushed, and the author seems to have a thing for letting major storylines peter out or leaving them unresolved (Michael Godwin's in Swordspoint, Artemesia and the Black Rose's in this one) but all and all really energetic and engaging. Great characters, great world.
lexxluthor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
stolencapybara's review against another edition
4.0
What I love most about Kushner is how she never ceases to subvert the reader's expectations. Took me a while to get into, but my, what a splendid read. Her characters live in my head now.
debchan's review against another edition
4.0
more riverside!
katherine's progression was amazing. her inability to understand her role in society and her want to stay in dresses and drop the sword to her understanding of how women were treated and standing up to the male dominance that plagued the nobles and training to be fluent in the sword!
and i know i loved her journey and though her character was shady sometimes, she really flourished under richard st. vier. no surprise there.
katherine's and alec's views of richard are vastly different, and i think that katherine sometimes understands richard better than alec does. but alec really tries and although he has the emotional caring avuncular capacity of a rock, we can see that at least he tried.
why didn't we get more time with richard and alec? of course we want more of them; they're the stars of riverside and this whole series.
katherine's progression was amazing. her inability to understand her role in society and her want to stay in dresses and drop the sword to her understanding of how women were treated and standing up to the male dominance that plagued the nobles and training to be fluent in the sword!
and i know i loved her journey and though her character was shady sometimes, she really flourished under richard st. vier. no surprise there.
katherine's and alec's views of richard are vastly different, and i think that katherine sometimes understands richard better than alec does. but alec really tries and although he has the emotional caring avuncular capacity of a rock, we can see that at least he tried.
why didn't we get more time with richard and alec? of course we want more of them; they're the stars of riverside and this whole series.
finlaaaay's review against another edition
3.0
I much preferred the first book in this series to this one. It was still good, of course - the story of a girl trying to become a swordsman, so it's got quite a lot of gender-bending. And it still has all the high-society stuff from the first book. But I got distracted by the sound effects added to the audiobook, I'm afraid. They added to the first book more than to this one. Also, shifting from some scenes played by a cast, to others narrated entirely by Kushner was confusing. I did quite love the voice of the other narrator, incidentally, the one that narrates the casted scenes. Kushner is indeed good at narration, but the other narrator is like warm androgynous syrup. I thought she should have read the entire book. I could lose myself in that voice.
I might read the next book instead of listening to it. But I'd also quite like to go back and listen to the first one again, actually. Also, I've seen online that Kushner has been collaborating with a bunch of other authors to write sequels to this, so I'm tempted to try that.
I might read the next book instead of listening to it. But I'd also quite like to go back and listen to the first one again, actually. Also, I've seen online that Kushner has been collaborating with a bunch of other authors to write sequels to this, so I'm tempted to try that.
meganclancy's review against another edition
4.0
This is such a charming book. It's fantasy, but not high fantasy, and the emotions, actions, and thoughts that Katherine experiences are grounded and realistic. I especially like that Katherine encounters characters who vary in their sexual experience and preference, and that they are treated without judgement. It can be read without reading the earlier book about some of the same characters, Swordspoint (which is also excellent).
3rdtimelucky's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
swarmofbees's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pepper9627's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25