Discussions about books and coffee/tea
I was excited, but wary of reading this book. Excited because I absolutely loved The Hunger Games as it's one of my favorite YA book series. Wary because I didn't want to see Snow being portrayed as a protagonist, or even anti-hero. Fret not though, because this book doesn't give any kind of redemption, but rather an origin story to his villainy.
This book definitely has a very gothic aesthetic to it, especially given how much the word 'blood' and 'vultures' is used in it. Seriously, it rivals the number of times SJM uses 'mate' in ACOTAR. The entire book had a very dark setting to it, but the two kingdoms we visit are dark for different reasons. Kalyzazin has a kind of winter/snow-covered, mountainous setting while Tranavia gives off more of a creepy bog, river vibe.
As far as characters go, Guinevere was the only one that had any real character development, but even that was minimal. This book definitely had a lot of plot/action (which I typically love), but that was at the expense of seeing any real character growth in most of the characters.
The Book Lover's Coffeehouse 