Artichoke Tales

Abandoned this twice. I forget which year I originally picked it up, but I abandoned it because I could not tell the characters apart. This year (2023) I thought I'd give it another try. I made it further and started to like the part about the queen, but then it fizzled and I felt that it wasn't worth the effort. Which is a shame because it seemed to be touching on interesting topics such as regional identity/culture, priorities of state, difficulties of government to balance what's important, war and rebellion... I'm taking a look at the afterword and am somewhere between incensed and irked that one of the places she takes inspiration from is the Cascade Range. Does she think she's clever because of the Cascadia movement; does she support the creation of this new country?! takes a breath ah she's from Seattle, its more likely that's why the area inspired her. I also had a hard time with her book [b:Squirrel Mother 47090 Squirrel Mother Megan Kelso https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924568l/47090.SX50.jpg 46144]