A review by crimsoncor
Blackthorne by Stina Leicht

5.0

Absolutely loved this book. Much more than the first book, which was already excellent. The subversion of expectations that goes on by remapping the POV characters is exceptional.

Spoiler

The reader is primed to like Nels, because he was something of a hero character from the first book. He was the first POV character we had and really it was his journey that drove so much of that book. But here, he's really an antagonist to Blackthrone and we're shown such a different side of him. You really can't root for him in the same way.

. There are a bunch of POV characters and Leicht lays out all sorts of breadcrumbs on how their paths are going to collide and yet

Spoiler

she always manages to subvert that expectation. You can see a world where Davis and Caius are dragged into helping the kainen because of their personal connections, but neither ever actually goes down that road. The will they/won't they relationship between Ilta and Blackthrone that is pushed so hard never actually culminates.

We expect these beats because that is how stories work but better storytelling is to show how often these roads do not terminate where expected. Blackthorne is just an incredible character. In some ways, reminds me of Fitz from [a:Robin Hobb|25307|Robin Hobb|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397885202p2/25307.jpg]'s novels, with how broken his past has made him. But still with that heart of compassion underneath all the pain.