matt reviewed The Burning Stone (Crown of Stars, Vol. 3) by Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars (3))
Review of 'The Burning Stone (Crown of Stars, Vol. 3)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Alain remains a bro. That ending with the lady of battles doesn't bode well for him though. Tallia though - what a dick. I feel bad for her, especially after she "marries" Conrad, but there's nothing likeable about her. I hope Alain gets lucky with the Kerayit princess. Dude needs a win.
Hanna also remains a bro.
I really enjoyed Zacharias and Kansi-a-lari. I want to see more of the Aoi, and I think Zacharias was a good point of view to give me that. The whole Quman plot felt like it came out of nowhere but was a good move; it was threaded in pretty well. I like Sapentia more now that she's with Bayan.
More of a rebuilding book for Hugh. Laying some more groundwork for evil. Kind of overshadowed by Anne, who claims the title of top bitch in this third round.
Liath was alright, but really …
Alain remains a bro. That ending with the lady of battles doesn't bode well for him though. Tallia though - what a dick. I feel bad for her, especially after she "marries" Conrad, but there's nothing likeable about her. I hope Alain gets lucky with the Kerayit princess. Dude needs a win.
Hanna also remains a bro.
I really enjoyed Zacharias and Kansi-a-lari. I want to see more of the Aoi, and I think Zacharias was a good point of view to give me that. The whole Quman plot felt like it came out of nowhere but was a good move; it was threaded in pretty well. I like Sapentia more now that she's with Bayan.
More of a rebuilding book for Hugh. Laying some more groundwork for evil. Kind of overshadowed by Anne, who claims the title of top bitch in this third round.
Liath was alright, but really kicked it up to 11 in the last act. Of course Anne killed Bertrand, she's a tremendous asshole. I am curious how (mechanically) Liath was conceived if she's half human and half super fire angel thing. I think being away from Sanglant could be good for her character, since she's a bit boring and he's very likeable. Heribert was also a low-key bro.
Rosvita I found a little irritating. She spends too long right on the cusp of important breakthroughs. For a brilliant scholar she's a bit slow.
Theophanu and Adelheid were forgettable. Henry marrying Adelheid and invading Aosta seems like a bad idea.
Ivar blows. His development hinges too much on believing Tallia's heresy, and Tallia sucks in general. He's whiny, and all of those companions suck. Pour one out for Baldwin being Judith's beautiful sex slave/husband but the lady of battles seems to have resolved that issue for him. Killing that phoenix was a dick move.
I'm still 100% team Stronghand.
Overall, I liked this one more than the previous book. It really feels like things are kicking into gear as we enter the middle of the series.
