I Read What?!

I have just noticed that somehow I never did a Table of Contents for Robin and the Kestrel, nor have I updated my master post. So...that'll happen soon.

Anyway, as for Daughter of the Lion, we're entering into our big genre shift. For the first two thirds of the book, Daughter of the Lion was basically a romantic comedy with some vaguely feminist leanings. It wasn't entirely to my taste, but it was pretty consistent in that tone.

Now it changes. There's a big Content Warning here, folks. Not surprising for this series but still a bit disappointing.

On one hand, I suppose, it is a chance for Roberson to put her money where her mouth is. Daughter of the Lion is possibly the only book in the series to really treat the rape trauma undergone by the characters with the genuine emotion that it deserves. And well, the relevant victims here are men. We'll now get to see if she treats a female victim with the same sensitivity.

But it's still bothersome. Especially since I can't quite get over the idea that Keely's experience now is somehow meant to counter or balance or make up for how she's been treating her brother throughout this book. Brennan is, after all, a victim of rape and torture himself. But this isn't the kind of resolution I wanted to see. I didn't want to see Keely punished for how she treats her brother, I wanted her to realize how unfair she was being and apologize.

Spoiler: while Keely definitely suffers in her own right, she will never come to the realization or apologize. So my desires are thwarted twice.

Oh well. Let's move on with the story.

( I suppose I've stalled long enough )

I think I've mentioned this before, but the structure of A Pride of Princes is actually a bit different from the preceding books. Where before we only had one main protagonist, in this book, we have three. All three of Niall's sons share narrative prominence. Keely, of course, gets her own book. And Maeve gets fucking nothing. But that's a rant for a later date.

Anyway, how this works is that the book is divided into parts. Part One was our introduction, and each brother has a subsequent "Part" that represents their own individual storyline. The last "Part" will draw elements of each into a conclusion.

I bring this up now because we're reaching the end of Brennan's "part". Next week, we'll move onto Hart.

This one gets a content warning...retroactively.

( It does seem unfair that Donal never had to share HIS book with his sister. But well, Donal is a dick )

Last time, we hung out with the kids. That makes me happy because, as viewpoint characters go, I find Sorka much more likeable and less judgmental than Sallah. Sorry. Also, Sean reminds me of a tiny F'lar sometimes, albeit one that actually likes fire lizards, and that makes me laugh.

I do think McCaffrey has a knack for writing kids, when she wants to. They only tend to get really fucking annoying when they age up (see: Jaxom).

So that means we're likely to hang out with the adults this time...damnit.

Oh, by the way, we've got a content warning for this one folks.

( Yeeeah... )

So last time, Niall finally got to Atvia and found a hostile father-in-law, a broken brother, and a wife who has...some issues.

Please note the content warning.

( In the end, I think we can genuinely blame most of this on Donal )

So last time, Drizzt spent his requisite six months at wizard school where we learn the shocking fact that had Drizzt been so inclined, he would have been an amazing wizard. And Salvatore tries his best to convince us that swinging a sword around is much more badass than fucking magic.

Sorry dude, I accept that Drizzt is badass but there is nothing more awesome than magic.

Um. This part deserves a warning. There's some dark shit going on at this graduation ceremony. The rape tag is there for a reason.

( Prepare for a tonal shift! )

So here's my confession. I really did not want to write this review. I'm not sure if I just forgot about this chapter or put it out of my mind. But I got here and I just...ugh.

I don't even really know how to warn for this. I mean, content warning: rape (or at least VERY dubious consent) is appropriate but...

It's more than that, somehow. Content warning: you are about to lose the last shred of respect you may have had for a particular character? Possibly more than that?

Content warning: character assassination? Because even at his worst, and there's been a lot, I can't imagine this character SAYING what he does in this chapter?

I don't even fucking know. I suppose the one thing I'm grateful for is that if you're reading these reviews, you've already seen some pretty fucked up shit. So maybe that'll help.

But enough stalling. Let's go.

( Fuck everything )

So okay, here's the thing. There's a big content warning for this chapter. Rape. There is rape in this chapter. Because fuck this series and its inability to let the characters develop natural, non-fucking rape relationships.

Anyway, here we go.

( Fuck all of this shit )