I struggled with how to separate what I wanted this to be versus what it actually is.

I think I wanted a Roku who was farther along the path of becoming a fully-realized Avatar, but instead, he is at the very beginning of his journey as the Avatar and not yet bending anything other than fire. While this came with some disappointment, I think because of the fact that we know how Roku's tenure as Avatar ends, it's valuable to see how it started.

I like that he's obviously very different from both Kyoshi and Yangchen; it's fun to see how the home nation of each of these Avatars has such an influence on their personalities and worldview. Plus, with Roku you get the whole Sozin relationship, and the fun surprise was that Gyatso was included in this story too!

In fact, I think the talk of grief and moving beyond it without letting go of those feelings - both from Roku and Gyatso and even from Malaya (in the deleted scene of the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition - was the thing that will linger with me the most, especially Roku's speech to the Lambak people at the end of the book. Really powerful.

In the end, I really did enjoy this despite my very initial disappointments, but I'm hopeful for a bit more of a time jump in the next book. And surely this will likely be more of a trilogy (or more) than just two books? Since we know Roku lives to more or less "old age" (not compared to Kyoshi, of course), it'd be fascinating to check in every 10-20 years or so to see how he has progressed in both his bending and in his worldview while likewise seeing Sozin's rise to power and thirst for conquest.

Whatever is next...I'm excited for it!

Bookstagram - @chelsealikesbooks