Plot: 5/5 Ah… I love this. Just as I love everything by Tamora Pierce. WE got more details in this one, which was my main complaint about the plot of Page. Kel is Raoul’s squire (Raoul!) And since he’s the commander of the Kings Own, her squiredom was (Apparently) not very conventional, but it was fun and I loved it. We also finally went on the Grand Progress, and I enjoyed that very much. Characters: 5/5 Kel: I feel like her character keeps on improving with each book. Well… I suppose that’s the point of having a series… The Yamanis: We finally meet some of the Yamanis! Prince Roald’s wife-to-be, Shinkokami aka Shinko and one of her ladies, Yukimi aka Yuki and Kel is friends with both of them! I really liked Yuki, but we didn’t see enough of Shinko for me to really determine if I like her character or not, but she seems pleasant. …and my opinions on other characters haven’t really changed. I either love ’em or hate ’em still. Romance: 5/5 Okay, so we have a REAL romance here! Cleon and Kel. I, personally, love their relationship. When talking with other people about this series, my friend said she liked Cleon UNTIL their relationship got serious and then she didn’t like him. I love him best when they get serious. Overall Grade: 15/15

The author's writing seems to have improved so much in this series compared to her first series in this universe. Whereas the first series suffered greatly for lack of pacing and attention to detail in setting scenes, the pacing in this book feels natural. The protagonist actually looks around her environment and describes things, so I can picture the setting where the story takes place. She also goes more in-depth on her training. She zooms in and out, using a combination of specific detailed scenes where we get in the characters head and have blow-by-blow action described to us, and then some zooming out where time passes more quickly in summarized fashion. There seems to be a balance here that to me was completely off in the first series.

I don't even know how many times I've read this book (this series?) at this point, but other than an unfortunate lack of one Nealan of Queenscove, this book is basically #flawless, so we'll just leave it at that. (Although, can I just say: I would happily devour an entire series devoted to Buri's adventures with the Queen Riders, starting at the end of Lioness Rampant and running through the 18 or so years until Lady Knight. JUST SAYING.)

4.5

Good book. Read the whole series.

Still think this is one of my favorite series she is written. I love finally seeing what happens during a knights oath and also just the fun cast of characters we met. I tend to get a tad lost in long battle sequences but a very good read.