AHHHHH so here it is! My most anticipated release of 2018! I know I'm not the only one who's been waiting for Tamora Pierce to publish another book. So, when I plucked up the courage to request an ARC and got accepted, I squealed and did a happy dance *in my head*

Overall, I'm rating this book a solid 4 stars. I will admit that I was expecting to rate this a 5, but unfortunately, there were a few things that didn't live up to my expectations.

Let's start off with what I really liked!

First off...ARRAM DRAPER IS THE MOST ADORABLE, NERDY, ANXIOUS LITTLE (he get's bigger) CINNAMON ROLL I HAVE EVER MET! Honestly, every aspect of him was so relatable and I loved seeing how Numair was like as a child compared to what he's like in the Immortals series. He's so oblivious to some stuff around him, yet he notices other things people don't notice. And he's so smart and powerful, but he doesn't realize it! I loved his relationship with Ozorne and Varice, though I couldn't help constantly wondering what was going to happen to result in what happens after. There are definitely a lot of hints though ;)

Speaking of hints...for those of you who've read Tammy's other books, you'll love this one because of the characters that pop up here and there. Some immortal characters, and others who we meet later on. There are also little things that are mentioned that will make you squeal! Since this book follows Arram's studies at the University in Carthak, you also get to see a lot of his day-to-day life and what he's learning in each of his classes. So, if you like learning more about the magic in Tammy's world, then you'll really love seeing what mages are taught at the University. Having seen what life is like while training to become a knight, I really did enjoy this other perspective. Also, if any of you have read the Circle of Magic books, then there are little things that happen that reminded me a lot of Sandry, Briar, and Tris :)

I loved getting to see more of Carthak and learning more about its history. Compared to the glimpse we get in Emperor Mage, Tempests and Slaughter really goes into a lot, especially about slavery and gladiatorial games. We also delve into some politics both at the government level and at the university level, and I have a feeling we'll be getting more into that in the next book.

But here's what left me feeling a bit disappointed:

This book is kind of slow. Besides the fact that I had finals and the start of a new semester, it took me almost a month to read it. I am a slower reader, but I think a lot of it has to do with the pacing in this book. While I enjoyed seeing what Arram's daily life was like, I also felt like nothing was going on. There isn't much of an overarching plot. It's quite subtle and only hinted at during certain moments, and there are many loose-ends. And while I do understand that Tempests and Slaughter is building up on Numair or Arram's story, I'm more used to Tammy's books doing a bit of both – building up the world and characters, but also introducing the plot pretty early on. Now I know that this book is meant to be read by anyone – aka, you don't have to have read the other books in the Tortall Universe to read this one – so, it explains why this book focused more on building the world and introducing little subplots here and there. I'm definitely expecting more closure and answers in the second book, but because of this, it did take longer to read and I felt a little disappointed.

The ending, especially, was sort of anticlimactic. The entire time I was reading this book I was expecting for something pretty big to happen. And there were multiple times when I was like "ohh, now we're going somewhere", but every time, nothing came of it, or it was brushed aside and there were no answers. If you've read this book, then you might know what I mean. But the last 70 pages or so, I was like "okay, it's going to happen now", and while stuff did happen, it was over really quickly, and we were left with no answers, but a sort of happy ending.

One other thing I want to bring up, is puberty. If you've read Tammy's other books, then this doesn't come as a surprise since she mentions things like breasts and periods and cramps all the time. I did know going into Tempests, that there was going to be some mention of Arram going through puberty, but I guess I wasn't prepared lol. Since I tend to know more stuff about my own body, it was definitely an interesting read. I feel like we don't get much about the guy's side of things in books. Like ever. I don't know any guys who've read this book, but I really would like to know what they think and how they felt. I know seeing Kel get her period in Protector of the Small made me super excited cause of how relatable it was, but I really want to know how guys felt about what Numair went through. Was it relatable? Did they like reading about it? Do they wish this was more talked about it books? I will say though...I am very glad I am girl, despite cramps and periods etc.

Overall, I did enjoy this read. It brought back so many good memories from Tammy's other books, and having known Numair, getting to learn about his past was amazing! I can't wait for the next book! I have a feeling it'll be more fast-paced than this one, and we'll definitely get a lot more answers. Knowing where Arram/Numair ends up, I'm excited (and nervous) to see where the next book will go.