The Hourglass Throne

3.5 stars. A really great sequel with a riveting, and oftentimes emotional plot. I loved seeing Rune and Brand's interactions again.Despite that, I don't think I'll be continuing this series any longer. Though I genuinely appreciate seeing the kids' development in this book, I feel kind of apathetic towards them as a whole and I'm not interested in seeing them become a more significant part of the story in future instalments of The Tarot Sequence. It's a ‘me' problem.I also have mixed feelings on the whole dynamic between Rune, Brand and Addam. Spoiler Rune and Brand's dynamic was absolutely to die for in [b:The Last Sun 36466732 The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence, #1) K.D. Edwards https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517437940l/36466732.SY75.jpg 58174811] and [b:The Hanged Man 38224713 The Hanged Man (The Tarot Sequence, #2) K.D. Edwards https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523219986l/38224713.SX50.jpg 59902859]. It's still has its spark in this instalment but... something feels missing. I can feel the [platonic] love they have for each other, but I wish the overflowing chemistry we saw between them before was still visible to the same degree. I like Addam a lot, he's a really nice character, but that's about it. It feels a bit strange to read about Rune and Brand, the iconic main duo from the very beginning having to include Addam in the middle of everything that happens between Rune and Brand. Them as this pseudo-romantic (I don't know what to call, it's not poly but there are strong feelings?) relationship doesn't work for me personally. Sometimes it feels like a forced attempt to convince the readers that Rune is, in fact, in love with Addam instead of Brand. It feels like whenever Rune is assuring Addam about his love for him, it's the author's attempt to assure the readers as well so that we don't get our hopes up. I just think it's a shame that we had two characters with such phenomenal chemistry and banter in previous books, and that the spark in that relationship has become somewhat muddied. Also, the revelation at the end of How Brand apparently had a crush on Lord Tower felt haphazardly thrown in just to convince readers that Rune and Brand could never be romantic. Which is fine, I just wish this narrative was made more convincing by... I don't know. Making Addam a bit more interesting or having a more interesting dynamic with Rune? Rune and Brand's chemistry was something so special—and it's still there, I want to make that clear—but I miss seeing it just be them, when other people didn't have such an impact on how they are together.All that aside, I still had a great time reading this and I'm really glad that this series exists.