this book was so clever and witty and sexy and passionate and romantic yet heart breaking but beautiful and fast paced and amazing and driven.
the characters were flawed, but so so so lovable and admirable and I loved them so much.
the plot and the dialogue were fabulous and I laughed out loud multiple times because of Roshar. I could never guess where he plot was going or what game Kestrel had in mind, but I enjoyed it. I never wanted the story to end, although I loved the ending with Arin and Kestrel finally singing and playing piano together. Such a beautiful scene and image to leave the reader with.
Roshar' character development began towards the end of the winner's crime. he and Arin were already friends, but seeing the teasing nature and compassion between them that developed during this book made me so happy. it make me laugh, and I reared up when he had to leave. considering that he is gay, when I first read that I thought maybe he fell in love with Arin (how could you not?) but after that point it became obvious they were friends. Not only did we see that friendship, but the one that developed between Kestrel and Roshar, while not as funny or brotp-y, it was just as fun and exciting to read.
Arin's character I felt kept the roots of his character from the early books, but he did change. He fully accepted that he was blessed by the god of death, and embraced it. which I loved. His compassion and willingness to trust could be a weakness, but like Kestroe and Roshar said, then it wouldn't be him. Seeing how he wanted to protect Kestrel and keep her in safety, worried me at times, BUT he did let her go. he let her because he knew he'd loose her if he didn't let her go. and Kestrel made a great point that she worried about him constantly and he could worry about her too. Arin still possessed a sort of confidence, but his vulnerable side was much more exposed, especially when it came to Kestrel. I loved that. I loved how he opened himself up to her, especially when she didn't exactly remember everything.
Kestrel's character changed the most, but her arc was beautiful. I loved seeing her grow to trust Sardine and Arin and Roshar. I loved that she grew close to Sardine first because I love female friendships and their friendship was beautiful and Sarsine's reaction when Kestrel finally came back home was priceless. I have good images of them talking about everything that happened. As I said earlier I loved the friendship between Roshar and Kestrel and how she always beat him at games. The most challenging thing to read was the relationship development of Arin and Kestrel. No matter how painful it was to read and experience, it felt real. It developed correctly and was rushed. I loved the scene where she saw Arin almost die and she brought him to safety and the scene when he woke up. BEAUTIFUL. It was so nice to read about them after that, and I loved it. They care SO MUCH for each other, and I love it so so so much that Arin made a wedding ring for her and that she wants to make HIM ONE. :''')
the last scene was such a good scene to end on. would I have loved to had more of it? hell yes. but I'm glad of the image it left in my mind, and i loved that we got as much of a ribbon to tie the box as we did. HOWEVER i still want a novella of their wedding, wedding night, and Roshar's commentary on both. XD