AstaFinished The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. It was mentioned as a recommendation for someone who liked Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and I do wonder if the person making the recommendation has read the same books I now have, for I did not see similarities.
There was a lot I liked about this book; Maia, the main character, himself, the relationships he built and the struggles he faced were well told and kept my interest. Unfortunately there was also a lot I didn't like; the overly complicated language (I had to read some sentences multiple times and still not understand what was being said), the plethora of names that all sounded like each other and that entirely blurred together, and the way Maia immediately knew how to be an emperor despite having been kept away from court all his life. There were also some plot points that I did not understand at all, maybe because the story was relying on the reader being able to read nuance that I'd did not grasp, which is frustrating as in a lot of other things l found the writing to be telling way more that showing.
It's really not an usual book in it's construction, there was no great final battle, but the end felt satisfying all the same. I don't know if there's continuation to the story, but I would happily read any there was.
3.5 ⭐
