Prelim Review: This is a hard one to review. I accidentally stumbled onto a review of the second book (THE BANDIT KING) from a reviewer I trust (we share similar tastes, thoughts and trigger buttons) and for whatever reason a major plot point spoiler wasn't hidden or warned of and BAM.

I read it when I was only about 40% done with this book and it soured the experience a whole lot. I was almost convinced I must have misunderstood the reviewer, but then the last 10% of the novel affirmed what she had said I nearly threw my Kindle down in disappointment.

I wanted so hard for it not to be true. And yet...I'm not sure.

I'll come back and adjust this after I read the second book. Its told from the major plot point spoiler's POV (this book is told from Vianne's) and maybe answers will be found then.

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2019-12.html#saintcrow ( )

I have no idea why I liked that so much. Vianne is basically the ultimate ingénue and spends most of the story whining about how unfit she is to be queen, getting sick, and wondering if Tristan really likes her or is just using her status. Regardless, I quite liked the subtle twist on European cultures, even if some of the alternate-spellings made me chuckle (of all the animals to rename, why farrat from ferret? It just sounds silly). I actually paid money for the next book [b:The Bandit King|12790094|The Bandit King (Romances of Arquitaine, #2)|Lilith Saintcrow|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338247378s/12790094.jpg|17937923], so that's something. ( )

3.5/5 stars

This book started out really promisingly for me, and would have potentially been a 5 star book if not for the last 1/3 of the book. Vianne is a Duchesse of the Court, the special companion to the prince, and content in her role in life as a gentile lady with no desire to social climb. On the day she sees the King's Left Hand kill a man she learns of a plot to assassinate the king. Before she can process these events the king and princess are assassinated by the king's brother and she is fleeing through the castle holding a magical artifact through which the gods speak. Tristan, the King's Left Hand, is her only chance for survival and escape from a similar death. Freeing him from the dungeons is only the beginning of her troubles. Vianne it turns out is the only other rightful claim to the throne and the Seal has chosen her as its chosen heir.

I like Vianne as a character. There are a lot of complaints that Vianne is weak. For the record if I read one more "historical" style fantasy where the female noblewoman is suddenly capable of feats most men of the time wouldn't manage I will scream. Royal women were expected to be pretty and vaguely useful when it came to things like flower arrangement and needle work. Vianne is very believable in the role while still managing to have a huge amount of back bone and ingenuity. If your female must be kick butt and never cry or doubt Vianne isn't for you, but if you'd rather have a capable woman, working hard to meet the sudden new expectations of her life go for it. Tristan's love for Vianne is really sweet. Saintcrow writes enamored men better than anyone I know. They manage to be totally head over heels in love with their women while still being as masculine and kick ass as possible.

Most of the book follows Vianne and Tristan fleeing with loyal guards across the country as the Duke/King tracks them to kill Tristan and force Vianne into marriage. Vianne is more and less useful throughout but manages to bear up. If you've read Saintcrow you know her women are dense when it comes to their men, but I felt a spark of hope when it became obvious she was in love with Tristan and actually capable of admitting to it and enjoying this love. Throughout there is mystery around Tristan, Vianne, and events in the past. Without giving anything away, in the last 1/3 of the book Vianne has made it to safety, there are admittedly some attempts but the steady drama of before is gone. The entire build-up here is headed towards one event that I guess is meant as a twist, but I saw it coming miles away so I was honestly expecting something a little greater. Even Vianne suspects it and if she'd stayed true to character and not gotten dense she might have come up with it faster as well. Just as things are actually getting interesting it comes to a grinding halt. The last 1/3 could have maybe been pared down a bit to make the twist more interesting, instead of a welcome relief of "finally". Still, I think I'll read the next book. I enjoy Tristan and I'm so used to beating my head against the wall over Saintcrow's angsty women that I don't even notice anymore. ( )

Hmm.

I started out really quite delighted with this. I can't actually comment to the actual historical accuracy of the "romantic court" scene and setting (or, given that it's a fantastical European setting, "authenticity" may be a better word than accuracy) but it felt quite authentic, inasmuch as the women's roles were quite intricate, if sheltered, and the court and romantic intrigue highly mannered and restrained. The language, morals and emotions were not simply pasted in from a modern sensibility.

Not to mention that all of this was delivered quite pleasantly through observations of action in the first-person narrative. Every time a character was introduced, our heroine put her in perspective of dances, of favours, of courting, of intrigue - which I'm sure could seem frivolous and silly to some, but really worked for me as strengthening of the realities of this world, and of our heroine's world.

But from that strong start, I found this really meandered and languished for me. The middle twisted itself up in an extended bout of the heroine refusing the call to action, which might be thoroughly realistic but was really quite tedious. And the end became direly portentious and heavy-handedly mysterious about Hidden Nastiness which could have been handled if our heroine had just shown a modicum of the sharp wits she was allegedly endowed with (the other characters commented on them every second page, as I shouted at her to pay attention) and asked a few pointed questions.

It ends on an appalling cliffhanger. I am most put out.

So honestly, I just don't know about this one. It leaves me frowning mightily as I go, "Hmm." ( )