User Profile

Celehar gains an apprentice, strengthens his… friendship(?) with a certain opera lover, and continues solving mysteries, both big and small.

Another visit to the city of Amalo. Though this is a darker book than both its prequel, The Witness for the Dead and The Goblin Emperor, The Grief of Stones remains thoroughly saturated with good people basically being kind to each other. I find it a valuable thing to read about these days.

Also, still plenty of emotive ears, and sweet goblins.

Thara Celehar is a Witness for the Dead, and has a few mysteries involving the dead to solve. Set in the world of the Goblin Emperor (where Celehar played a small part), this is a delightful expansion of the world, and retains the gentle sweetness previously established.

Celehar reminds me of Maia, shy, kind and dutiful. Amalo is vividly brought to life, as are its many inhabitants. I love the Goblin Emperor, and though this isn’t quite as delightful, it’s still very enjoyable. There are also lots, and lots of expressive ears!

I really enjoy the “Saint of Steel” series, and Paladin’s Hope, in particular. An interesting mystery, a practical protagonist, a deliciously paladinly paladin, queer romance, and more than one Gnole!

The writing is fun, and funny, and features my Platonic ideal of a pally, and Kingfisher’s way of handling romance, is one I find both believable, and enjoyable.

Every book in this series has the best paladin, but Galen is truly lovely. Piper, however, is hands down my very favourite “Saint of Steel” protagonist, and perfect in every way.

I didn't enjoy this. I found it overwrought and almost a pastiche of various other romantasy tropes that are popular these days. The competition that will seal the fate of the world (which is disappointing and entirely without peril). The amazingly gorgeous pick-me protagonist, and the dark, dangerous but oh-so-alluring anti-hero romantic interest. Just nothing new, nothing interesting, nothing realistic.

I understand that I'm not a reader of romance, and this isn't meant for me. So assuming my biases against it are irrelevant, I guess it is… fine? I'm sure there is better out there, so maybe read this last, after you've used up the good stuff?

Mr Scales, a top Ashtown enforcer, is doing just fine until a gruesome and impossible murder occurs right in front of her.

I liked this book a lot, but an element detracted just enough to stop it being a 4-star rating for me. Because spoilers I shan't mention what, suffice to say it features a certain theme found in speculative fiction that I'm not fond of. That I still enjoyed the book as much as I did is a testament to Johnson's skill. The writing is good and engaging, the story interesting and the characters complex and multi-faceted.

Every issue I had with “Assistant to the Villain” remains, and they've multiplied. All difficulties are resolved with hugs, smiles, or kind words, mostly from the protagonist. She is again relentlessly touted as charmingly cute, rather than the annoyingly dim cardboard character the text actually portrays.

I can see people enjoying this, particularly as a comfort read bulwark against a world where being kind doesn't actually fix everything immediately. It's simply just not my kind of thing. I want to read about believable characters, in a credible setting.