Why did I wait so long to read this!?! QUEER KNIGHTS!!! Also, this cast is so diverse, not only in sexual orientation but also skin color, like praise!! This is the kind of cast I want for all the books written by white people.
The Afterward follows two characters mainly: Knight Apprentice Kalanthe Ironheart, and thief Olsa Rhetsdaughter. It has been a year since they were both selected for a quest to find the godsgem, and while they came back successful, the godsgem isn't done with either of them yet. Olsa is struggling with her new title of hero and how to make a living now that she isn't tied to the thieves guild. But she doesn't have any other marketable skills, and the thieves masters keep giving her increasingly reckless jobs. She's been arrested several times and she's afraid the next time may be the last. Kalanthe is approaching her 18 birthday when she'll finally be knighted. But she still has many debts to pay off from Knight training and the only options available to her are marriage.
This book follows the girls as they try to rekindle their romance after being apart. But interspersed through this is flashbacks of their journey to find the godsgem and how they originally fell for each other. I loved both of these girls so freaking much. I love how much they want the best for each other but currently can't see a way for it to work out between them. Every time they separated, my heart cried for them.
I can't remember all the names because I listened to the audio (and i have no idea how to spell any of them), but there is a trans woman who is a Knight; a Knight that is described as Shield Maiden--doesn't feel attraction like others, so I'm taking it as aroace; a Knight who dealt with chronic pain due to a head injury (this might also be the aroace Knight, I can't remember); a Black Knight who teaches Olsa how to braid her hair and more. Plus Sir Erris who becomes the Queen (possibly the only straight character of the main cast?). In addition to Olsa and Kalanthe, the also have Mage Ladros with them, the only male aligned person in the main cast. I'm unsure of his sexual orientation though.
Regardless, this book just had so much rep and as a person who deals with chronic pain from headaches to see not one but TWO characters (the second is a side character Kalanthe is possibly entering a marriage of convenience with) who dealt with chronic headaches/migraines meant a lot!
This book was so much fun and all about found family. Please read it. I will definitely be rereading this soon, after i binge That Inevitable Victorian Thing! Also super excited for Aetherbound next year!
The Afterward follows two characters mainly: Knight Apprentice Kalanthe Ironheart, and thief Olsa Rhetsdaughter. It has been a year since they were both selected for a quest to find the godsgem, and while they came back successful, the godsgem isn't done with either of them yet. Olsa is struggling with her new title of hero and how to make a living now that she isn't tied to the thieves guild. But she doesn't have any other marketable skills, and the thieves masters keep giving her increasingly reckless jobs. She's been arrested several times and she's afraid the next time may be the last. Kalanthe is approaching her 18 birthday when she'll finally be knighted. But she still has many debts to pay off from Knight training and the only options available to her are marriage.
This book follows the girls as they try to rekindle their romance after being apart. But interspersed through this is flashbacks of their journey to find the godsgem and how they originally fell for each other. I loved both of these girls so freaking much. I love how much they want the best for each other but currently can't see a way for it to work out between them. Every time they separated, my heart cried for them.
I can't remember all the names because I listened to the audio (and i have no idea how to spell any of them), but there is a trans woman who is a Knight; a Knight that is described as Shield Maiden--doesn't feel attraction like others, so I'm taking it as aroace; a Knight who dealt with chronic pain due to a head injury (this might also be the aroace Knight, I can't remember); a Black Knight who teaches Olsa how to braid her hair and more. Plus Sir Erris who becomes the Queen (possibly the only straight character of the main cast?). In addition to Olsa and Kalanthe, the also have Mage Ladros with them, the only male aligned person in the main cast. I'm unsure of his sexual orientation though.
Regardless, this book just had so much rep and as a person who deals with chronic pain from headaches to see not one but TWO characters (the second is a side character Kalanthe is possibly entering a marriage of convenience with) who dealt with chronic headaches/migraines meant a lot!
This book was so much fun and all about found family. Please read it. I will definitely be rereading this soon, after i binge That Inevitable Victorian Thing! Also super excited for Aetherbound next year!