The Sword of Kaigen

**SOFT SPOILERS**

Think ATLA, while tackling the concept of war realistically. Paints an almost "too-real" picture of what the aftermath of war looks like and does not sugarcoat it at all. Very well-written and enticing read all the way through.

Onto my very nitpicky "Minus 1/2 a star." The world-building is amazing...but falls apart from the nature of it being a stand-alone novel. A lot of the world-building and references to the author's previous works can be a little confusing at times, unless you've read the other Theonite novels. While it's not necessary, I think it would help to read the other novels first. It is through and through a stand-alone novel, just hard to follow at times.

My other gripe is how she "deals with a certain character." All the characters in the first half of the book are very bland, with readers only seeing growth for one character in specific. I got drawn to this character and enjoyed his growth...only for him to be killed off. Thankfully, the second half of the book was very well-written and I actually ended up enjoying it more than the first half. However, killing off the only character with character development did not sit well with me.

Overall, an amazing read. Just very nitpicky points.