Dale Amani

The plotting was beautiful. We are never blindsided by any reveal and infact some nuggets were sprinkled as far back as book one. As usual the pacing was slow at the beginning but the build up was worth it.The two main characters had little growth in this one and one of them in particular had drastically changed at the beginning in ways I wish I had been able to read rather than have it referenced in past tense. That said, other characters took up the stage and grew in unexpected but engaging ways. There were some heartbreaking moments but I enjoyed the ending nonetheless. What a send-off. An enjoyable read

I only wish it was longer. The poetry in the descriptions sometimes made it feel even more personal strangely. The way war is presented here shows the human side beyond the guns and the politics. A great read.

The plot was slow at first but built up beautifully. It was rarely predictable. Most of the characters were okay but left a weak impression. Majority of our understanding of them came from expository conversation rather than the story. The two main characters were good especially toward the end though one was better than the other. The chosen love story was forgettable and hardly believable in the sense that I accepted it only because the main character again saw qualities “in his eyes” which were not demonstrated sufficiently in the story. Because one of the main characters was more interesting, I wished the story had been in his point of view. The mysteries and discoveries are hidden and hinted at well enough through the story that I never guessed the answers but was not blindsided by them when they were finally revealed. Many questions were left unanswered which makes me want to read the rest of the series but hopefully the love story and characters are better. The world building and magic system was intricate and interesting but the constant reiteration of how it worked got tiring. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Still excels in heartbreaking back stories. Characters grow in believable and engaging ways. Sometimes however, you want to reach out and strangle some of them for the choices they are making but it mostly works out. Lots of moral questions to think about. Some are answered divisively from what I gather from other readers including myself but they are believable still. There's still alot of setup and a relaxed pace early on but the minor conflicts are enough to keep you going. The world remains interesting and vividly described. A good read.

3.5. Hate bringing down the average but here's why. The book , like many Sanderson books is slow paced especially at the beginning but lacks that avalanche of payoff at the end. Infact , this ending felt rushed. There was little to no action which is not a bad thing but there was opportunity for it that was not explored. Compared to his other novels, this one seemed to be shortened. We could have had chapters from the wars mentioned since they do have a huge impact on the story. I also didn't find the characters appealing except for one . That is not to say they weren't well written. They were, but I didn't find them all that interesting. Some deaths as well didn't pack a real punch. I know also that he was playing with the concept of reversals but there were two characters whose sudden change though kind of hinted at felt like it was decided early on and not considered again when I think they were better as they were. All in all, I recommend other cosmere books and this was an okay read.