I really wanted to like this book. I'd heard good things, it was supposed to be a fairytale wrapped up in a deeper story, with fun, loveable characters and an intriguing plotline. But when I actually set out to read it, I was disappointed.

We are dropped into the middle of a story with no background, no information, nothing. So as much as I wanted to understand what was happening, I didn't. There was some intrigue sprinkled in, some vague explanation, but it was never enough.
The writing was in no way bad, and I think that T. Kingfisher does have a way with words. But the entire first 100 pages or so of this book is written like a flashback. The author writes in this detached voice that makes it sound like everything that is happening has already happened, and that the narrator is recounting it so far in the future that the details are fuzzy, and this only gets mildly better once you hit the 150 page mark. I found myself not caring about any of the characters or the plot at hand, because the tone was so far removed that it didn't draw me in. The main character, Marra, felt like a side character, and everyone she met from there on out she met so quickly, and with no real build up or reason, I didn't care about any of them. They were funny, sure, but they fit into an archetype so well (grumpy/mysterious old lady, funny old lady, handsome knight), that they were just so surface level. The characters and their relationships didn't feel real or natural, and it just really took away from the entire story. When the conflict is supposed to be surrounding Marra and her deep desire to save her sister, it would have really helped me if I actually cared about the sister, or felt like she was important to anything.

The worldbuilding was weak at best, and left me with more questions than answers. It felt like every time they ran into an issue there was always some kind of convenient magic there to fix it, that had never been mentioned before. It was too convenient, too perfect, and took away from any suspense that the author tried to add in.
Additionally, the pacing in this book was so... wrong. It was so fast that we never saw the intricacies of the character's decision making, nor did we ever see their relationships really developing, and we certainly never saw the plot deeping. There were so many times I thought 'This would be such a good twist!' but there was never a twist, just charging forwards with almost haphazard action scenes and decisions that were meant to feel smart but ended up feeling random and misplaced.

Even during scenes that Marra was meant to be doing these 'impossible' tasks, I never felt like she was struggling to get them done, or in any danger if she didn't. The dust-witch had so much potential to give her a consequence, or to raise the stakes, but then she just... handed Marra the final task, like it was nothing? Marra never struggled, and never once gave an indication that she couldn't do something. It didn't feel powerful, just boring.

So many little things just detracted from the story and the stakes of the world, and while I read the book quickly, I never felt like I was on the edge of my seat, just had to read the next chapter.

The ending. I was okay with this book, hovering around 3.5-4 stars, until we hit the ending.

"and then Fenris pulled the sword out and blood came from the king's mouth and he died." That was it. That the was entire sentence/scene where they killed Vorling - the thing they had been working towards this entire book, just to say 'and he died.' It felt like such a waste, like throwing away the entire reason they have been travelling this whole time. They barely even touched on his death, on the panic and chaos that unfolded afterwards, and, of course, everything worked out and never once did I feel like any one of the main gang was ever going to die.

 

I wanted to like this, and I didn't have a bad time reading it, but if you're someone who values worldbuilding, who values deep character connections, understandings, and who wants an in depth, fulfilling story, this is not for you.