The Councillor

This was an incredible book and my reading year definitely started on a high.

After the death of Queen Sarelin, Lysande, the court's scholar and a simple commoner “adopted” by the queen, rises to become The Councillor of the orphaned Elyria realm and has to appoint a new leader from the different “city-state” rulers of the kingdom.
The action takes place in a renaissance style world with places reminiscent of European and Mediterranean countries. The cultures of each cities were distinctive with their own traditions and history, and the queer normed, gender equal societies made for a rich and interesting world building.

This was definitely a more character oriented book and the main character, Lysande, was very well written. She is a scholar with a cultured and analytical mind that is respectful and considerate of others but as we discover she also holds dark traits and addictions. The book was written in a third person point of view but it was solely through her eyes the story unfolds; however the other characters also felt very real and complex.
It was incredible to delve into her mind and emotions as she deal with the power vacuum created by the death of the queen, the rise of an old enemy but also prejudice, lies and political manoeuvrings. The plot itself was very Machiavellian with many twists and turns, and a great dose of mystery.

The most prevalent fantasy aspect was the appearance of mythical beasts like the chimera or the panther and the practice of elemental magic.

For me one of the biggest quality of this book was its writing. It was so elegant, lush and sensual which is no surprise since the author is also a poet. The descriptions and world-building were integrated seamlessly into the plot with some truly gorgeous prose. There was multiple passages I read over and over just to feel the beauty of the words written again.

The Councillor is a great character-driven political fantasy, I can't wait to read the next book !