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kes7706's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Rape, and Sexual content
asteroideae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Violence
booksthatburn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The worldbuilding leans into a details of the tournaments and the role of the King's Own, folding in Kel's lessons on tactics and strategy from her knight-master. There are references to things learned in previous books and other series set within Tortall, which help give a feeling of depth for those who have read those earlier stories. It's a character-focused story, with references to what Kel is learning and how she's thinking about the information, punctuated by action scenes when she's in training or combat.
I like Raoul as her knight-master, their rapport feels easy and her admiration for him shines through. She sees much less of her friends as they continue their training at the Palace or have knight-masters of their own to follow around Tortall. The plot focuses on the inglorious and brutal work of defending peasants, killing bandits, and dealing with the increasing forays of Scanran raiders. Kel also starts to solidify her own ideas of justice and the ways that the current laws and customs fail those they're meant to protect. She's also figuring out what she wants from love and relationships, finding herself in a romance filled with long separations.
Kel sounds a bit older than she did in PAGE, with her narration on the page finally tracking her age better than it did in FIRST TEST. The story could make sense if someone started here without having read the first two books. There's a more robust storyline here during her time as a squire, and while the resolutions to past bullying and harassment won't be quite as satisfying without knowledge from earlier, there are sufficient and succinct explanations which let the events make sense anyway. Such a reader would miss out on the sense of how much she's grown up, but as she learns and matures even within this volume they might not miss too badly the early parts of that journey. I do still recommend reading the quartet from the beginning, since at times it feels like one single long book that just happens to be broken into parts. There's a lot of overlap of timelines, since the books are divided based on Kel's status on her journey to knighthood, and the events around her refuse to be so neatly confined.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
charm0nix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Bullying and Sexism
Minor: Rape
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
As with the other two books we don't really see Kel change at all. Sure, she gets taller (she's 5'10'' !), but her voice is still exactly the same. I think it would have been interesting to see her mentally and emotionally mature as well, but since she grew up with the Yamani people she was already more mature for her age. Still, it's been difficult to actually view her as the ages indicated due to this.
This book definitely has a lot more action, and grander setting than the first two. Since Kel is training under a knight she is traveling all over the realm. It would have been nice to hear a bit more about the individuality of the villages and cities they were in, since it was quite glossed over.
Between the action can be dull. Since we go through 4 years in this book we have a lot of telling instead of showing. We can have over half a year be summarized in just a few pages. They definitely saw a lot of fighting, but we'll just hear one or two sentences about it and move on. Obviously you can't talk in detail about everything that happens, but it does feel a bit strange.
The reason I say Kel is a juggernaut is that she is obviously so much more useful than a majority of the people in this book. She can do no wrong, and always does what is right and needed for the situation. She seems flawless at this point, and I actually found it a bit annoying at a few moments. Even the climax, which this entire book built up to, was just a blip because of how perfect she is.
Regardless, I did enjoy this one more than the other two. I'm looking forward to finishing this series, and I hope we see more of the human side of Kel in the final book.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Kidnapping
meganpbennett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit
anacereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, and Rape
victorianrogue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Sexism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Kidnapping