After finishing both the first and the second book I was torn between two different ratings, and on both occasions decided to give the book the highest one. Having been resurrected from his fatal tortures in Regal's dungeons, Fitz has once more foiled Regal's attempts to be rid of him.

Nighteyes and The Fool were literally the only true friends for Fitz, the rest have some kind of hidden agendas for him. As soon as Fitz and his companions found the dragon statues, the book just seemed to drag on and on. So yes, the surroundings are different, the tone of the book is different, the interactions between the cast of characters are different and the ending is so very different to everything everyone imagined that it is kind of hard to wrap your head around it.

The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad questperhaps to death. So a 2 star from me means,yes, I liked the book, and I'd loan it to a friend and it went everywhere in my jacket pocket or purse until I finished it. Yes, in my opinion, she doesn’t belong in the story other than being an anchor for Fitz and the gang. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. And yes, I’m also glad we got a bit of background info on the Raiders, and that it made the whole conflict a lot less black and white!

If Verity wasn't up to the job, clearly Fitz would have been and he could have been put forward as a viable alternative to Regal.My opinion of Starling quickly goes downhill when she first reprimands Fitz over how he treats Molly, then immediately tries to sleep with him. A UK slipcased hardcover edition by Harper Voyager the 2nd of November 2017 with ISBN 9780008223281, to match the AA 20th anniversary edition.