A review by chelseaviolet
Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

On re-reading this I can't get it out of my head that the fiance doesn't matter to the plot at all. I really would love love love a novella detailing their relationship more, experiencing what Beka went through to really get into her headspace for the start of this book as it is a pretty jarring jump from one book to the other.

Of course I still loved it, the tense drama, the pacing, the animals, the plot, Beka herself and Farmer even though it felt a little rushed - most of the other series, the characters fall in love slowly and this was a speeding train in comparison.

I would recommend them to others, although I do think they're higher-level YA due to subject matter and in some ways even due to language, despite the fact that she doesn't use actual swearing (she makes up a whole new set for the world she's created). There's sex, there's fighting, there's death, and it's not pretty. But Beka has very strong moral fiber and it's a strong tale.