A review by hotwaterbottle
Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Another gripping entry in Ky Vatta's adventures! This time,

the girls are fighting

. Ky continues to juggle her ambitions, family duties, and internal turmoil, while Stella reassess what she knows of Ky. An old woman with fruitcakes menaces from a distance. 

I appreciate that characters continue to make mistakes and grapple with those decisions in hindsight. While supporting characters receive less attention and personality than last book, I appreciate the author's difficult job as we meet more and more new characters in the universe.

I was a bit disappointed that

Ky and Stella's interpersonal conflict

became such a major part of this book, considering where things were left in the previous installment. I also resented that

at least some of it seemed to be about a boy

. (There's a war on! We have bigger fish to fry.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Minor: Misogyny and Sexual assault