I love picking up older fantasy series and seeing if they live up to my expectations.

This book was not bad. I couldn’t remember much from reading it as a teenager, but it definitely has a unique magic system and the world and lore is really interesting. 

I got so excited to see disabled rep in an older fantasy. I completely forgot about Darrow’s injury and him using a cane to get around. But of course that was ruined because magic ended up fixing his leg completely 🙄 Though we did end up finding out that Trout is deaf and can’t hear the Power of Seeming because it’s too high of a pitch. But I’m still upset that Darrow’s disability was easily cured because of the Power of Becoming.

I feel like the book ends off at a good spot. The story feels like it’s come to a conclusion, so I don’t know if I will pick up the next book right away. That being said, the different nations and islands and their magic systems are so interesting and make me want to see more of the world. I definitely read this book faster than I was expecting because of this.

I’m still a little confused whether Samis (our main villain) was a poc or not. It was kind of vague, but considering where he’s from it sounds like he should have been and having him as the villain was a little :/

Overall, not bad. Doesn’t quite live up to my expectations but I think that’s just a given with older fantasy