3.5

Cute, quirky, and fun!

I binge-watched the new 2020 show in a day, and then immediately after finishing started reading this book. The pieces the book filled in were helpful to understanding Alex's character in the show, and I think they did a good job of the adaption, as in the book his introduction into MI6 is a bit less dramatic. There are a lot of elements that are difficult to believe, but it's fun to cast my doubts away and enjoy the book. I know I would have loved this as a kid, and my little brothers probably would too!

The only reason I don't give this at least four stars is the writing. It was told in third person POV, but the POV was so distant, I felt it was very hard to connect to Alex. He is a really smart, bold, and quit witted character who is not afraid to take chances, but at the same time he messes up in incredibly foolish ways. If we had deeper insight into his head about what he's thinking when he succeeds (and fails) it might make him more relatable, but we don't. Alex sees a lot of hard things, too, but we don't get the emotional impact of, say, watching someone get murdered, that would definitely hit a fourteen year old hard.

So all in all, it was a fun read, but not a very deep or emotional one, which is what I think makes good books great. It's a fun story, if a bit wild and hard to believe, and I think young teens would love it. I'm certainly enjoying it, and I'll probably read more of them. But the lack of emotional investment and connection to the main character--or any of the characters at all--means I probably won't stick the 12 and counting series to the end.

I didn't realize I'd never reviewed these books! Huh. Well, now's as good a time as any, I suppose. But where to begin? The Books of Bayern is a much beloved series to me. This first book, though a bit slow moving at times, is powerful and gripping and meaningful. It takes a while to get going, but when it does, the tension is agonizing. Ani is such a relatable character, and her struggle is so understandable, and really makes me root for her. She allows her hardships to shape her, and form her into being a better version of the queen she is destined to become.

I also love her development of wind magic. It's fascinating how she connects to the wind, how she seeks it out and listens for its voice until at last, it comes to her. The magic feels so /real/, like I could go outside and try speaking to the wind--or geese--myself.

I'd give it five stars, but for the slowness of the plot. But again, the tension was tangible, and I really enjoyed the read, especially in context of the others in the series (rereading it after reading the other books was so delightful).

This book. Agh. Razo was my favorite all through books one and two, and it was so great for him to finally get a book all to himself! He's such a charming character, and while everyone else in the series is so powerful, he's ... really not. Yet he /is/, in his own way. Just not the way everyone expects, and that's almost more powerful, in a way. I love how observant he is, and his humor is hilarious. He's so easy-going with everyone, and doesn't mind being third wheel to Enna and Finn, which is good because the dynamic of those three is fantastic. I love his unexpected skill with the sling, and how he could be good at some things, and not others, and how he used his own unique strengths to his advantage. And then ... Dasha. She's so cute, and I love their relationship (especially the nose wrinkling).

Probably the most hilarious part of this book (at least to me) is when Razo tries to make his expressions cool and indifferent or whatever, and then the person he's with is like, "Are you feeling okay?" It's so well-written and the hilarity of the moment sends me keeling over with laughter every time. I love Razo, and I love this book.

I was expecting this to be easier to read this time around, but this book still punches me in the gut like an iron fist. This book really hit me when I first read it in high school. I'd never been affected by a book like this before, and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I didn't, but at the same time I did. It's hard to read in some ways, because how Rin thinks is heavy and difficult to stomach, but it's also something that I found (and still find) very relatable. I resonated with her character in a way that I never had with anyone else I've ever read in fiction. I think sometimes writers shy away from characters who struggle with self-loathing, but this book confronted it head-on, and I think that's so important because kids need to know that they're not alone out there. They're not crazy. And in seeing the flaws in Rin's arguments about why she's The Worst, they can slowly begin to see the flaws in their own arguments towards themselves, and that's so important.

This conclusion to the series is perfect, if heart-wrenching, and I loved seeing the fire sisters through Rin's eyes--these women who we've spent three books getting to know. It's really awesome to meet them again through Rinna.

Overall, I loved this whole series, and highly recommend it to any and all fantasy lovers. The magic is unique and intriguing and fun to think about, the characters are unique and relatable, each book has a touching theme, and the writing is lyrical and provocative. Definitely a collection to add to your personal library.