I'm conflicted..

I don't like to be conflicted..


..Conflicted (animated)..

Then again I think I'm always going to be conflicted when it comes to YA books. I'm not a YA. I can't even remember being a YA. I know I was there. I know I read the [b:Pawn of Prophecy|44659|Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, #1)|David Eddings|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391346857s/44659.jpg|2558293] (Belgariad) series and thought it spoke to me.. but that was a long time ago..

Ok I'm digressing which is crappy for you. Was this a good book? Sure. Was it a great book? Nah. I love Sanderson, I love the [b:Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set|6604209|Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mistborn, #1-3)|Brandon Sanderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1257442247s/6604209.jpg|6798109] / series and most everything he has done but this book had me, lost me, had me again, almost lost me, had me again.

Part of me wonders if it was a rush to finish the tale. What if this had been a prequel to the finale? You've got a small amount of time doing recover cleanup from the last devastating book. You've got a weird amalgamation of working in a new landscape, then a rush to Epic showdowns then to a climax, which quickly thrusts you into an epilogue. Sewn in between all of this is this meta love story, sometimes forced metaphors, all wrapped up into a rollercoaster ride which you can distinctly hear the click-click-click-click of the ride ratcheting up the tower.

So I'm not sure.

Did I enjoy it? Yea. It was a fun diversion, and enjoyable landscape, an interesting read, and always interesting power structure / moral compass flipping / land of Epic-oddities, but somewhere I felt a bit rushed through the museum.

If you've read this far, you owe it to read onwards--you will have a good time, but like a bagel with cream cheese, you'll ponder if you should have added some protein to it because damn you're still hungry. :D