This was not at all what I thought it would be. I thought we would get some insight into Riden’s thoughts and feelings about Alosa, but this chapter completely focused on his dedication to his brother. 

Fair enough, it’s literally the first time him and Alosa meet, so there’s actually something rather good to be said about the fact that it was not an insta-love situation for Riden, but still… I would have preferred it then if the author had chosen a different chapter to write from Riden’s POV, one later on in the story, so we could have understood his love for Alosa better.

That said, I do think this chapter gave us some needed understanding for how Riden views his brother and why he kept defending such a vile creature in the first book. It looks like he truly thinks Draxen is a good person underneath, and the monster is all an act (or something that can be pushed back), but I doubt Riden will be able to lie to himself about this much longer… I guess we’ll see in the sequel.