4.5
It's been two years since Gemma left her order of War Monks to fight at her sister Keeley's side as Keeley fulfills the prophecy of the Blacksmith Queen against their younger sister Beatrix. In that time, Gemma has begun to lose faith with her god.
But she'll have to confront her wavering faith when she's called upon to investigate the decimation of various religious orders throughout the realm. Her thoughts immediately turn to Beatrix as the brain behind these horrific acts. Regardless, Gemma will have to reconcile her beliefs as well as the beliefs of others if she wants to make it out of this conflict alive.
I've been sitting on this review for a while now. Not because I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book, but because I sit here thinking of what to write and I feel like every deep thought I could have is just overshadowed by how just genuinely, hands down much fun this read was, and how G.A. Aiken's reads are just fun in general.
I feel like reading this book is an immersive experience. Like in order to really appreciate the flow of the plot and the banter you have to really fall into the characters and the story otherwise you miss the subtleties of a turn of phrase or dialogue. I felt like I was able to do this better with this second book probably because I knew the score, so to speak, after being familiar with the characters and their varying quirks. G.A. Aiken's writing is so vivid that I could picture every single expression and side eye glare administered by and toward each character.
I liked delving further into Gemma's story. In the first book she kind just appears (in the nick of time of course). We knew where she had been, we know that she's a war monk, but little to nothing about what pushed her back to help Keeley. Obviously the reason why is because that first book was Keeley's book. I loved that beyond giving us Gemma's side of things, we also get a continuation of what was started in that first book.
I felt like the eventual romance that develops between Gemma and Quinn was just, I guess, breezier. They clash on a few viewpoints which only adds to the comedic effect of the book, but overall I could feel the obvious friendship and regard they have for one another. So when these feelings deepened (because I don't think "changed" is really the correct word) it just felt natural for them. I felt their connection moreso than I did for Keeley and Caid from the first book.
The Princess Knight is a fun, fast, action-packed read. It was a perfect read for me, just hitting the right spot of what I needed at that moment. I think we all could use a little light-heartedness right now. And I think the topics of belief and faith which are heavily dealt with throughout as Gemma tries to reconcile both her role by her sister's side and within that of the War Monks are pretty apt message right now to. Having faith in yourself and your beliefs.
There are quite a few siblings left in the Smythe family so many opportunities to continue the series but no clear-cut path of which direction things will go next which kind of adds to the quirky, madcap quality of the series anyway. I look forward to when we can continue the journey.
It's been two years since Gemma left her order of War Monks to fight at her sister Keeley's side as Keeley fulfills the prophecy of the Blacksmith Queen against their younger sister Beatrix. In that time, Gemma has begun to lose faith with her god.
But she'll have to confront her wavering faith when she's called upon to investigate the decimation of various religious orders throughout the realm. Her thoughts immediately turn to Beatrix as the brain behind these horrific acts. Regardless, Gemma will have to reconcile her beliefs as well as the beliefs of others if she wants to make it out of this conflict alive.
I've been sitting on this review for a while now. Not because I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book, but because I sit here thinking of what to write and I feel like every deep thought I could have is just overshadowed by how just genuinely, hands down much fun this read was, and how G.A. Aiken's reads are just fun in general.
I feel like reading this book is an immersive experience. Like in order to really appreciate the flow of the plot and the banter you have to really fall into the characters and the story otherwise you miss the subtleties of a turn of phrase or dialogue. I felt like I was able to do this better with this second book probably because I knew the score, so to speak, after being familiar with the characters and their varying quirks. G.A. Aiken's writing is so vivid that I could picture every single expression and side eye glare administered by and toward each character.
I liked delving further into Gemma's story. In the first book she kind just appears (in the nick of time of course). We knew where she had been, we know that she's a war monk, but little to nothing about what pushed her back to help Keeley. Obviously the reason why is because that first book was Keeley's book. I loved that beyond giving us Gemma's side of things, we also get a continuation of what was started in that first book.
I felt like the eventual romance that develops between Gemma and Quinn was just, I guess, breezier. They clash on a few viewpoints which only adds to the comedic effect of the book, but overall I could feel the obvious friendship and regard they have for one another. So when these feelings deepened (because I don't think "changed" is really the correct word) it just felt natural for them. I felt their connection moreso than I did for Keeley and Caid from the first book.
The Princess Knight is a fun, fast, action-packed read. It was a perfect read for me, just hitting the right spot of what I needed at that moment. I think we all could use a little light-heartedness right now. And I think the topics of belief and faith which are heavily dealt with throughout as Gemma tries to reconcile both her role by her sister's side and within that of the War Monks are pretty apt message right now to. Having faith in yourself and your beliefs.
There are quite a few siblings left in the Smythe family so many opportunities to continue the series but no clear-cut path of which direction things will go next which kind of adds to the quirky, madcap quality of the series anyway. I look forward to when we can continue the journey.