exactly what the blurb promises–a twisty political intrigue with a bit of ~magic~

Rec’d!: This book was recommended via Aquilla’s truly amazing review and is definitely one that I would never have run into myself. It’s the perfect example of why book reviews are so great, and finding a circle of reviewers with whom you connect is so amazing.

SO this book. To quickly recap: the queen of a collection of four city-states/duchies(?) and one capital city has died without an heir, and as such a Councillor has been appointed to pick a new monarch from the rulers of the four city-states, each of which specializes in a different area and none of whom are truly friends. Two additional wrinkles: the first is that the queen didn’t just die–she was murdered–and her killer might very well be one of the four vying for the throne. The second is that the threat of invasion from the kingdom’s old foe hangs over all–an equally ruthless queen who has in her army elementals, people who can control air / fire / water (sorry Earth Kingdom), who have been brutally stamped out since the last invasion was successfully repelled.

I didn’t actually think I’d be very into this book at first, and the beginning was a bit slow going as the various pieces were set in play. There’s a lot of necessary world building and grieving that our main character Lysande goes through at the outset, which is somewhat confusing for the reader. Having finished this book, I feel like that might even have been on purpose, to keep the reader as confused as Lys as she tries to get her feet underneath her.

As discussed elsewhere, this book really shines when it comes to the manifold ways in which the various city states differ and how they work together (or not). Lysande holds enormous power in her role as Councillor, and each ruler has a different method to try and win her over. In a sense I was reminded of another recommendation, Seraphina, even though the plots are rather different. Probably because I like the verbal sparring that Lys goes through the Prince Luca (like…everyone else).It’s possible that I’m getting wiser in my old age, but for once I could see a number of the twists coming from a mile off–although there were others that I should have guessed which I definitely did not. [of COURSE Lord Derset was the villain all along…is there ever a book in which the unflinchingly local servant who casts aspersions on other characters ISN’T the villain? And OF COURSE the White Queen’s secret weapon was chimeras (with soldiers on top, an additional detail I thought of because of the Temeraire books. That’s a Chekov’s gun if I ever saw one. That Lysande was an elemental herself–that I didn’t get, because I just assumed the side effects were from her drug addiction.]

While this does also end in a way that makes it clear that there will be a second book (it’s #1 in The Councillor after all), it also has a nice resolution that won’t make you antsy to read the next book–a genuine rarity!