Reviews

I really didn’t think it could be possible for Brennan to introduce a new protagonist, make them compelling, and place them into an interesting story, and yet here I am, my expectations exceeded. I really love the political overtones in this book and how they weave into scholarship and science in a very true to life way. It was always present in the Lady Trent books but it felt more immediately important and fleshed out as a driving force for the characters in this book compared to the previous ones.

larra's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

slwest382's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

guillaume_rho's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

To be clear: this book has little to do with the rest of the Lady Trent Memoirs series. It’s a spinoff about her granddaughter, written in epistolary form—we get entries of her journal, letters she sends to family and friends, news articles, etc.

At first, that format threw me off, but once I got used to it, I fell in love! It actually made me really impressed about the author’s technique. The different character voices are SO STRONG, which is exactly what you want in epistolary form, and what that format is good for.

As for the plot, it was actually quite gripping, in a nerdy way. This story is all about translating Draconean myth, so on the surface level, it’s all about language (and it does get very technical, talking about early written language rules and concepts), but then there’s a lot of intrigue picking up in the second half of the book.

The characters were brilliant, but I have a soft spot for sweet Cora, whom, if I’m not mistaken, is autistic and felt very well portrayed. Her view of the world was so touching, and I profoundly felt for her difficulty navigating a social world she is unable to understand.

I LOVED this book; I cannot state this enough. The original series was incredible and very strong on its own, but if you’re going to do a spinoff, this is how you do it—it was the perfect balance of familiar and fresh.

alicemirage's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

bluejaybooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

Nice to be back in this word and see what happened in the roughly 20 years since the end of In the Sanctuary of Wings!

daddyprentiss's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I normally don’t like sequel books set in the same world as an original. I adore the Diaries of Lady Trent- that is possibly my favorite series. That being said, this book was a great standalone sequel to the original series. The plot was intriguing and I read the entire book in a couple hours. I loved the structure of this book because while there *was* a plot involving Audrey and a nefarious political scheme, there was also an equal focus on the epics of the Draconean civilization. That was what held my attention the most because as much as I love Isabella Trent’s books, we are only given a naturalist’s perspective over an anthropologist’s one. Marie Brennan has done a fabulous job fleshing out this world and making it so realistic through the lens of memoirs and letters. I can’t overstate how much I adore this series- it may not be for everyone, but I’ve never found a series so perfectly suited to my tastes.

More...