Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Royal Assassin

I have so many swirling thoughts about this book, I'll need to return to this review later. 4.5 stars might not be enough, this might be a 5 star read... Every moment Hobb spends building these characters and this story, brick by brick, is worth it. You can sink into the story and grasp each character's thought process, even if you wish they weren't doing what they are doing. Hobb is a fantastic writer and I cannot wait to see where all the seeds she has constantly sown will grow and lead to. And the magic system is fascinating and constantly taking unexpected turns.

I am GUTTED for Fitz. Absolutely gutted. Pain pain pain pain pain! Constantly. Except for the brief weeks of love and joy he experienced.

It's enjoyable to read about a male main character written by a woman. The relationships and love stories play out in a much more relatable and layered fashion than many like this I have read by a male author.

Regal makes me FURIOUS. I am a bit surprised that so far, Regal seems to be a straight-up evil character. There is not much room to consider him to be morally grey like some of the other unsavory characters.

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vampires's review against another edition

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4.75

i can't think of what to rate this other than five stars but i'm sure that if i incorporate the beginning and middle parts into my rating more then it wouldn't be five stars but i read this so fast that it's all a blur and the last part was so batshit (/positive) i just .......

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chthoniclamb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Reading this was like revising old friends from book one in the series. The main character has grown from a child to a young adult. As such, he acts with annoying selfishness at times, which has me yelling at him and co plaining about him "letting" the antagonists win. He still is an earnest and (neutral) GOOD person. Hobb did a fantastic job showing how people's problems become more complex as they grow

, especially so for Fitz, who was born a royal bastard, blessed with both lauded and stigmatized magic, and thrust into the responsibility of managing court intrigue

.

I've enjoyed meeting new friends who I will absolutely revisit in the next book and probably revisit in the next 14. Before I started this trilogy, I thought there was no way I was going to read EVERTHING in the Realm of the Elderlings universe. How did people do it?? Now, I understand. We love getting emotionally wrecked by Robin Hobb.

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I can't rate or review this now, this book has left me an emotional wreck. When I'm feeling a bit more rational, I'll come back and do this properly. (02/05/2024)

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