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4.5 stars.
A good followup/wrapup to the Fable duology. The great writing continues and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. I love the world and it's darkness, the pirate nature of things, and everyone conniving to win.
Fable is a great character and I love the strength that she has continued to develop. Her relationship with West does result in some internal conflict for her that I feel she works through quite well in this book, though I do wish that we had more of West's background. I'm not going to lie...more books from the backstories of several of these characters would be awesome.
The "bad guy" in this one is fantastic. I love the greed and the absolute determination of these characters to squash their rivals and take on everything. It's just such a brutal all-or-none situation that raises the stakes and makes these characters nicely dark and sometimes an even more intriguing morally gray. The plotting and scheming from every side, the attempts to use Fable in many situations as a pawn, the cutthroat interaction of the traders...ah...it's all just fantastic.
There is less seafaring action in this novel than in Fable, as it focuses more on political intrigue and strategy, but I still freaking loved it. It was admittedly a little less tense and had less in the action department than the first novel, but it still held it's own.
I craved more of the side characters and really wish that there was more exposition that looked at the crew of the Marigold. I feel like those characters had so much potential and I wanted to know more about them. They were left standing around like cardboard cut-outs for most of the narrative and that stung.
The ending. It was a mixed bag. And endings are always the hardest for me. I enjoyed the narrative and its exploration of the world, but I do wish that there had been more from the final scenes. Without being spoilery, I feel like Fable's understanding is not as quick or strong as it should be and that was somewhat frustrating. For as smart as she is, it feels like she totally misses the obvious. Because of this, the ending did lose a little bit of luster for me. However, I really loved the way everything wrapped up and that loose ends were pretty well managed.
I will say again...I would LOVE to see more of this world, with backstories for West, Saint, Koy, and the ENTIRE CREW of the Marigold. Adrienne Young...I am NOT above begging. I need more of this world.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
A good followup/wrapup to the Fable duology. The great writing continues and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. I love the world and it's darkness, the pirate nature of things, and everyone conniving to win.
Fable is a great character and I love the strength that she has continued to develop. Her relationship with West does result in some internal conflict for her that I feel she works through quite well in this book, though I do wish that we had more of West's background. I'm not going to lie...more books from the backstories of several of these characters would be awesome.
The "bad guy" in this one is fantastic. I love the greed and the absolute determination of these characters to squash their rivals and take on everything. It's just such a brutal all-or-none situation that raises the stakes and makes these characters nicely dark and sometimes an even more intriguing morally gray. The plotting and scheming from every side, the attempts to use Fable in many situations as a pawn, the cutthroat interaction of the traders...ah...it's all just fantastic.
There is less seafaring action in this novel than in Fable, as it focuses more on political intrigue and strategy, but I still freaking loved it. It was admittedly a little less tense and had less in the action department than the first novel, but it still held it's own.
I craved more of the side characters and really wish that there was more exposition that looked at the crew of the Marigold. I feel like those characters had so much potential and I wanted to know more about them. They were left standing around like cardboard cut-outs for most of the narrative and that stung.
The ending. It was a mixed bag. And endings are always the hardest for me. I enjoyed the narrative and its exploration of the world, but I do wish that there had been more from the final scenes. Without being spoilery, I feel like Fable's understanding is not as quick or strong as it should be and that was somewhat frustrating. For as smart as she is, it feels like she totally misses the obvious. Because of this, the ending did lose a little bit of luster for me. However, I really loved the way everything wrapped up and that loose ends were pretty well managed.
I will say again...I would LOVE to see more of this world, with backstories for West, Saint, Koy, and the ENTIRE CREW of the Marigold. Adrienne Young...I am NOT above begging. I need more of this world.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *