Kate Googins

I would rate 3.5 stars because I disagree more and more with how Fitz makes decisions, but Nighteyes makes me cry (and cry and cry), so that’s a solid for stars from me. Robin Hobb does it again, folks! I’m so excited for the final installment of the trilogy.

This was not nearly as compelling as I wanted it to be. It felt like a second draft. She writes compellingly and emotionally at times. Her characters and the relationships between them glue the book together, but barely. I wanted to keep reading the whole time, but the plot felt wholly predictable and overall lackluster. The author doesn't dig deep enough into the mechanics she created in order to satisfy the reader. The possibilities are just sitting there. It's like she wrote each situation without exploring alternatives before deciding on the final story arc.

Alchemy is an overpowered mechanic in the story, and it's limitations are not discussed as much as the possibilities, which makes the story boring. Similar to how a TV show is written with very few characters to keep the budget small, there are like 5 main characters in the whole book. The casts of characters on the sides of Lumines vs Grand Central are parallel in a redundant way rather than exploring the use of foils.

Largely, the problem with the novel boils down to the fact that the author's prose isn't efficient. She could cover much more ground if she learned to cut deeply with one sentence rather than bludgeoning the reader over the head with three.

If you love Travis Baldree's Legends and Lattes series, this cozy fantasy is for you!! It's a little spicier, and the stakes are a little higher, but it has just the right amount of twists and turns!!

I loved the first half of this book! The pacing was even better than the second half of Book 1. However, the quality fell off quite starkly in the second half. The voices of Louie and Mazen seemed to change between book 1 and book 2 while only Aisha’s character development felt appropriately motivated. The rest of the characters felt oddly hollow. I think the core of the issue lies in the protagonist’s distrust of both jinn leaders that offer her a bargain. When a character doesn’t know who to believe, the author faces a catch 22: writing the character as authentically confused, misled, etc AND leading the reader emotionally to the right conclusion before the character catches up. I don’t feel like that happens here. Instead, the results of Nabila’s plans to destroy the bindings don’t seem to have consequences that mirror how vital the decision was for Loulie to do Nabila’s bidding. There also seemed to be a general lack of surprise on behalf of the Queen and her court when Dhabab finally rises to the surface unharmed when the bindings are destroyed. Didn’t they believe that destroying the bindings would also destroy their world?

Overall, an enjoyable read, but I had hoped for a more cohesive reading experience.

I don’t know HOW anyone could rate this book (or series!!) anything less than 5 stars. Beautiful characters, perfect ending. Devastating, happy-sad, full circle wonderful. Robin Hobb has just illustrated for us a masterclass on how to make your reader sob uncontrollably.

Nighteyes!! I go to hunt!!