Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Summary (with spoilers)
Lola is in love with Cricket Bell, the boy next door, or at least she used to be, until he broke her heart and moved away. When Cricket and family move back, Lola starts to fall for him again, especially when it's clear that Cricket likes her and it's revealed that Calliope (Cricket's twin) was the one who didn't invite her to Cricket's birthday party two years ago.

There's only one problem. Lola is dating her lame, much-too-old-for-her boyfriend, Max. Lola is convinced she's in love with Max, but as the story progresses, Lola and Cricket share a lot of intense moments. They work on her Mary Antoinette dress for Lola's winter formal, and Cricket climbs into her bedroom through the window.

Meanwhile, Anna and St. Clair make an appearance, since they work with Lola at the movie theater. Also, Cricket and St. Clair live in the same housing complex in Berkeley.

Lola's mom moves back in with Lola (and Lola's two dads, Andy and Nathan). Lola's mom has a drug problem and is not a reliable parent. However, while she's living there, Lola is able to get to know her mother a little better. There's also a plot line with Lola's best friend Lindsey, who wants to be a detective and has a crush on a guy at school, but doesn't want to date until she graduates.

Eventually, Lola breaks up with Max and realizes that she was never in love with him. However, she feels like she needs time to get over Max and to become a better person before she starts dating Cricket. Lola makes an emergency costume for Calliope, who is competing to be in the Olympics for figure skating. Cricket flies back from the skating competition to surprise Lola and take her to the dance. Finally, Cricket and Lola get together.

My Thoughts
Although I really liked Anna and the French Kiss, I felt that this book didn't have the same magic. I'm not sure why Lola doesn't break up with her lame boyfriend in the beginning of the book, once it's clear that she and Cricket are into each other. It seems like the book just drags on. We all know they are going to get together in the end.

The charm of the book is in the details the author adds to each character. Lola dresses in a unique way every day; Cricket is a whiz with mechanical devices and a snappy dresser; one of Lola's dads has his own pie baking company; and Calliope is a world-class figure skater. Every character has a passion, even the minor ones.

I also enjoyed Cricket's story at the end, where he describes the girl who talked to the moon, and how, since he couldn't take her with him, he took the stars. Very poetic.

Although the book is set in San Francisco, it doesn't have the same depth of description as Anna and the French Kiss did for Paris. There are a few iconic San Francisco places thrown in, but the location isn't nearly as important in this book. I'll probably go on to read the third book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, since it returns to the School of America in Paris.

Anna and the French Kiss

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary (with spoilers):
Anna is sent to boarding school in Paris against her will, leaving her almost-boyfriend, Toph, and her best friend, Bridgette, in Atlanta. Once there, she quickly befriends Meredith, Rashmi, Josh, and her love interest, Etienne St. Clair. Anna and St. Clair become friends, and Anna develops a crush on him as they run around Paris. Too bad he already has a girlfriend, Ellie, who graduated the previous year. Also, Meredith has a thing for St. Clair too, which makes the situation tricky. St. Clair drops a lot of hints that he's into Anna (drunkenly admitting he has feelings for her, buying her a book of Neruda poetry, and sleeping next to her over Thanksgiving break, to name a few), but Anna doesn't think he likes her because he won't break up with his girlfriend.

When St. Clair's mom gets cancer, his dad won't let St. Clair visit her. Anna and St. Clair both go home for Christmas, where Anna finds out that Bridgette is dating Toph, which Anna sees as a betrayal. When Anna gets back to France, she realizes that she is in love with St. Clair, who she starts calling Etienne. However, he's still with Ellie, so Anna starts dating Dave.

Tensions rise between Anna and St. Clair. They finally end up kissing in a beautiful garden, only to be caught by Meredith, who storms off. St. Clair chases after her, and then goes to see Ellie. Anna gets into a fist fight with Amanda, because Amanda called Meredith an unkind word. When St. Clair comes to Anna's door, she gets angry that he went to see Ellie. She stops hanging out with her friends, and is bullied by Amanda and her minions. Dave spreads the untrue rumor that he slept with Anna.

After Anna goes to the cinema, she sees St. Clair talking to his father. St. Clair wants to go to Berkeley for college, but his dad won't let him. Storming away from his dad, who is flirting with some woman, St. Clair spots Anna. She advises him to tell the woman (and all of his dad's friends) how happy he is that his dad is sending him to Berkeley, since his dad will be too embarrassed to contradict him in front of friends.

Anna climbs the tallest staircase in Notre Dame. She hears someone coming up the staircase, and is surprised to find it is St. Clair, since he's afraid of heights. St. Clair lets Anna know that her plan concerning his dad worked. They both declare their love for each other and start dating.

My Thoughts:

This book is a whirlwind of a love story set in beautiful Paris. I love how the author uses the setting, showing us how Anna and St. Clair fall in love amid the backdrop of the most romantic city in the world. The delicious descriptions of food made me want to hop on a plane and fly to Paris immediately.

Every character has something unique about them, from Meredith, who loves football and wearing rings, to Josh, with his skull tattoo and art skill. However, the side characters are never very fleshed out, mainly because Anna doesn't interact with them much. We're told that she's friends with Meredith, which is one of the main reasons she doesn't want to date St. Clair, but I never felt that they actually were friends. I would have liked to see more dialog between characters besides Anna and St. Clair.

I'm not sure if this book passes the Bechtel test (I think Anna and Meredith had a conversation about football, once, and she does talk to Bridgette about school) but it is a romance so perhaps that can be forgiven. Overall, I would have liked to see stronger relationships between the female characters.

I really did think the misunderstandings with St. Clair went on too long. After a while, Anna had to understand that he was in love with her, right? If they were such good friends, wouldn't they have discussed their feelings with each other long before they did? Perhaps this plot is something that could only happen with young main characters. However, their relationship was quite sweet. I like how they became such good friends before they started dating.

The ending is cute, but predictable. Did we ever doubt that Anna would end up with her Etienne?

Definitely a fun book that kept me reading. I've already checked out the sequels from the library.

The Last Dragonslayer

Title: The Last Dragonslayer
Author: Jasper Fforde
Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary (with spoilers):
Jennifer Strange lives in the Ununited Kingdom, where magic is not as powerful as it once was. Jennifer is a foundling of the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster, sent to serve the wizarding agency Kazam. Tiger Prawns, another Lobster foundling, soon joins her. He gets along quite well with the quarkbeast, a fearsome-looking yet friendly pet.

Some of the pre-cogs have a premonition about the death of the last living dragon, which means that the dragon's lands, which are set behind magical marker stones, will soon be available for anyone to claim. When Jennifer tries to discover more, she meets up with the current dragonslayer, who quickly transfers the office to her. Jennifer crosses the marker stones (which only she can do) and speaks to the dragon. She also hires an assistant, Gordon van Gordon. Some of the wizards at Kazam say that Big Magic is afoot.

As the last dragonslayer, Jennifer gets a lot of attention from the press and King Snodd IV, who wants Jennifer to claim the dragon lands for the kingdom before the barrier goes down. When she refuses, the king sends the handsome Sir Matt Grifflon to kill her. The quarkbeast protects Jennifer, and she uses the sword of the dragonslayer to cut through the wall and get away.

On the day when the dragon is destined to die, Jennifer travels to the dragon lands. She runs into Gordon, who has betrayed her and is staking out lands for the Constuff company. He pulls out a gun, and when the quarkbeast runs to protect Jennifer, Gordon kills the quarkbeast. Then Gordon dies when Jennifer threatens to fire him, and he instead resigns (since only the dragonslayer or her apprentice can enter the dragonlands.) The dragon tells Jennifer that she must kill him, and even though she doesn't understand the reason why, she follows his wishes, slaying him with the sword. She gets angry and splits a stone with the sword. It turns out that when a dragon is killed, two dragons are born (but this doesn't work if the dragon dies of old age.) Jennifer is actually a berserker, which is why she was able to channel her rage and renew magic within the Ununited Kingdom.

My Thoughts:
I'm going to preface this by saying that I love much of Jasper Fforde's other work, like the Thursday Next books and Shades of Grey However, this book did not have a lot going for it. Although Wikipedia claims this is a novel for adults, it clearly seems to be a young adult novel to me. (And I often enjoy young adult novels, but not this one.) The book suffers from 3 major problems:  too many characters, infodumping, lack of plot foreshadowing.

A new character is introduced almost every chapter, and most of them serve no specific purpose. Often, they are mentioned once and then never show up again. Why did that random guy have to ask Jennifer on a date in the first chapter? He's never mentioned again. What about the wizard that comes to visit Moobin and explains Big Magic. Couldn't another character have done that just as well? I'm not adverse to having lots of characters, but they need to serve some purpose, apart from just taking up space.

Ah, the infodump, where lots of background information is dumped on the reader in a less than subtle way. When the author wants to tell us the background of magic and the dragonslayers, a random side character is there to take up an entire chapter with the story. If we need to learn about Big Magic, there are some handy wizards to get Jennifer up to speed. (She's in charge of Kazam. You would think she'd know this information by now.)

Despite all of the infodumping, much information is revealed only when it suits the plot. Jennifer's on her way to the epic dragon death. Oh, by the way, did you know that no one can interfere with a dragonslayer when she's on official duty. When Constuff makes it look like the dragon committed some crimes, it turns out that there need to be three instances of dragon crime before the dragonslayer has to kill the dragon. The list just goes on and on. With all of that infodumping, couldn't the author have thrown in some of this information to foreshadow events later in the book? One major rule of writing fantasy is that the magic system has to be consistent. It's bad form to throw a bunch of new rules at the reader for the convenience of the plot.

Fforde is a great writer, but this isn't his best book. Try the Thursday Next series instead.

East of Eden

Title: East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary (with spoilers):
East of Eden chronicles the stories of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, while repeating the motif of Cain and Abel throughout the book. The story begins with Adam Trask, who is born to a solider who trains Adam for the army. Adam's brother, Charles, is jealous that their father loves Adam best, so Charles attempts to kill Adam. (Here is the first instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Adam joins the army, and after many years makes it back to the farm to live with Charles. When their father dies, the men inherit a large sum.

Cathy is a sociopath who murders her parents, flees her home, and gets involved with a criminal. When the criminal beats her up and leaves her for dead, she crawls over to the doorstep of Adam and Charles. Adam nurses Cathy back to health and marries her, but she sustains a scar on her forehead. They move to the Salinas Valley in California.

Samuel Hamilton is an Irish farmer with big ideas and a large family. When Adam moves to the Salinas Valley, Samuel befriends Adam, although he realizes something is not quite right with Cathy. Cathy becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. She decides to leave Adam, and when he tries to stop her in his confusion, she shoots him in the shoulder. (Hence the second instance of the Cain and Abel story.)

Cathy moves to Salinas (the city) and begins to work for a house of ill repute, eventually killing the owner and taking charge of the house. Meanwhile, Adam is depressed, and his servant Lee raises the twins. (There is a great scene where Samuel forces Adam to pick names for the children, and we see the beginnings of the third instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Lee is a thoroughly interesting and complex character, who is often judged for being Chinese and, in the beginning of the book, speaks a pidgin dialect with everyone but Samuel.

When Samuel Hamilton dies, Adam goes to Salinas for the funeral. He gets really drunk and visits Cathy. Adam realizes that Cathy no longer has a hold over him.

The twins, at this point, are about 11 years old. Aron is a friendly and well-liked boy, while Caleb is less favored and has flashes of cruelty. Some visitors come to the farm, bringing Abra, a cool-headed girl who Aron soon decides to marry. On the advice of the Abra's parents, Adam decides to move to Salinas. Aron and Abra meet up in Salinas, and while their engagement begins as childhood play, it becomes more serious as they get older. However, Aron is self-involved in many ways. Perhaps Lee describes Aron best when he says that Aron's purity and goodness are often selfish. For example, Aron considers joining the ministry and not marrying Abra.

Cal learns the truth about his mother and goes to see her. Adam and Cal continue to keep the truth from Aron, to protect him. Aron finishes high school a year early and goes to Stanford, although he doesn't like it there. He writes love letters to Abra, but she feels that Aron is really writing about himself. When Adam loses the majority of his fortune on an attempt to ship lettuce across the country, Cal earns the money back with help from Will Hamilton. During Thanksgiving, Cal gives the money to Adam, who won't accept the gift. Hurt and bewildered, Cal takes Aron to see their mother. Aron freaks out and run offs, then joins the army.

Cathy commits suicide, and Adam has a stroke when he hears of her death. Abra declares her love for Cal, in part because he isn't perfect, and they start dating. A letter arrives with the news that Aron is dead, which gives Adam another stroke. Cal reveals why Aron left for the army. Lee begs Adam to give some sign that he has forgiven Cal, even though it is difficult for Adam to speak. Adam manages one word, "timshel," which means "thou mayest." This resonates with an early episode in the book, implying that Cal has the ability to overcome whatever evil is in him.

My Thoughts:
This book is a masterpiece. The characters are complex and believable. The plot is exciting and layered. In summary, this book has everything that a good book should. Steinbeck describes the inner motivations of the characters with the skill of a master writer.

Throughout the book, we see the Cain and Abel theme reemerge for different characters in a satisfying way. I found the theological discussions of Lee, Samuel, and Adam particularly interesting. Steinbeck is always questioning the nature of evil. Where does it come from? Do we have the choice to overcome it (like with Cal and the idea of "timshel")?

The characterization of Aron and Cal invites analysis. Although Aron is the more well-liked brother, he is less complex than Cal. While Cal suffers over his idea of self and struggles to be a good person, Aron has a righteous goodness about him, which doesn't leave room for ambiguity or difficulties in others. (In some ways, Aron's attitude mirrors Adam's first view of Cathy. Although she tried to tell him that she didn't want to move to Salinas or stay with him, Adam refused to hear it, imagining Cathy to be the picture of a perfect wife.) Aron's biggest struggle comes when he moves to Stanford, but even then, it is a superficial struggle. When college does not live up to Aron's fanciful expectations, Aron moves off campus and instead idolizes Abra. Aron also does not have the patience for ambiguity in others. He expects Abra to be perfect, an expectation that she can in no way live up to. When Aron discovers the truth about his mother, it shatters his view of the world, and he can't handle it.

Cal, on the other hand, sees the cruelty in himself and battles to be a better person. He simultaneously loves his brother for his goodness and hates his brother too, because life seems so easy for him. Cal often tries to do the right thing, but he is confused about how to do it. For example, when Cal tries to give the money to his father, he wants to show his father that he loves him. (Although even this action is complex, for Cal admits that a part of him hopes he can buy Adam's love.) Later, Cal burns the money. Cal doesn't realize that being good doesn't have to be such a grand gesture or that it doesn't have to involve his suffering. Although on the surface Aron is easier to like, Abra realizes that Cal is actually less selfish and more in touch with the world.

In my summary of the book, I didn't talk much about the Hamilton family. Although those characters are well drawn, most of them remain in the sideline of the plot. Their stories are more vignettes that add flavor to the work as a whole.

I have nothing but praise for this book. It was a wonderful read.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Title:  Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary (with spoilers):

This book is huge, so I'm leaving out a lot of minor characters, as well as bits that aren't essential to the main plot.

The book opens with a meeting of the York Society of Magicians, who study magic, but don't actually practice it. The group reaches out to Mr. Norrell, who is known to have an impressive library of magical texts. Norrell claims he can do actual magic, proving so by animating the statues in York Cathedral. The York magicians are forced to abandon their group, based on an agreement made with Norrell, but Mr. Segundus is allowed to continue the study of magic.

Norrell moves to London with the intention of offering his services to the government. He's befriended by two scoundrels, Lascelles and Drawlight, who associate with Norrell for their own profit. Norrell is having trouble getting the government to take him seriously, so he offers to do a favor for government official Walter Poole by bringing his fiance back to life. He completes the magic by summoning a fairy, a gentleman with thistledown hair, who requires Lady Poole's finger and half her life in exchange. The fairy puts Lady Poole and Walter Poole's servant Stephen Black under an enchantment, forcing them to spend their nights at Lost-hope in the fairy realm.

Norrell asks his servent, John Childermass, to force the street magician Vinculus out of town. Vinculus invades Norrell's house and recites a prophecy to him, the same prophecy which induces Johnathan Strange to become a magician.

After marrying Arabella, Strange comes to London in hopes of being taught magic by Norrell. Although hesitant at first, Norrell soon warms to Strange, the only person with which he can truly discuss magic.

Strange goes to the front to aid Wellington with the war effort against Napoleon. Many entertaining episodes ensue. When Strange gets back to London, he realizes that he would like to express his own ideas about magical theory, causing him to make a break with Norrell.

Meanwhile, everyone thinks Lady Poole is mad, and Stephen Black isn't having such a great time, either. Lady Poole is placed in a care facility run my Mr. Segundus. The fairy, wreaking more havoc, decides to kidnap Strange's wife and make everyone believe she is dead.

Devastated by the "death" of his wife, Strange travels to Italy, where he meets the Greysteel family and manages to summon the fairy. The fairy offers him any gift in the world, and Strange asks for whatever the last magician he talked to gave him. Strange receives Lady Poole's finger, travels to the land of fairy, and realizes that Arabella is alive. The fairy casts a spell so that Strange is covered by a darkness which follows him everywhere.

Strange casts a spell that changes all of England, allowing magic back into the world for anyone who wants to practice it. Drawlight appears in Italy, and Strange sends him back to London with a message for Norrell that he is coming. However, Lascelles murders Drawlight before the message can be delivered.

Strange appears at Norrell's library. Instead of fighting, the two try to summon the Raven King. The fairy murders Vinculus, who has the Raven King's book written upon him, but the Raven King appears (while Childermass is there) to bring Vinculus back to life. Strange and Norrell cast a spell so that England will greet the Raven King, but they accidentally name Stephen Black, who with his new powers is able to kill the fairy, releasing everyone from their enchantments. Stephen then becomes the new king of the fairy land.

Arabella makes it safely to Italy, and is cared for by the Greysteels. Strange and Norrell disappear to fairy, still trapped within the eternal darkness. Strange returns to Arabella, saying he will come to her once they have found a spell to lift the darkness, although he certainly doesn't seem to be in a hurry about it. Arabella promises to wait for him.

My Thoughts:
Excellent world building throughout the book. Clarke makes us believe that magic is a part of English history, creating a detailed magical history through the use of extensive footnotes. She uses phrases such as, "all school children know of [insert famous magician here]." Very well done.

The Jane Austen/regency style of writing was wonderful. She uses the same rhythm and complex sentence structure as classics of the 1800s. The book also has bits of humor here and there. Her writing style made for a delightful read.

However, the book certainly could have been shorter. The whole novel is actually three books in one, coming in at about 800 pages. I think the same story could have been told in 300 or 400 pages. We get a lot of detail about minor characters, like the Greysteels, and Stephen's love interest (who is never mentioned again.) There are also times where the plot loses focus, such as the description of all the various magical tasks of Strange and Norrell. I know this adds to the flavor of the book, but I would have preferred a tighter story.

I'm bothered by the ending. Arabella promises to wait for Strange, who seems in no hurry at all to get back to her. I suppose this is his way of saying goodbye to her, since I don't think either one expects to see the other again. I just wish that Arabella had had a more proactive role in the story, and that she could be defined by something other than her marriage to Strange or the fact that she was enchanted by a fairy. The weird thing is, she's described as being quite independent, and her dialog suggests this as well, but her role within the book is one of subservience. Arabella is not in control of her life.

The Wave in the Mind

The Wave in the Mind by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 Summary (with spoilers)
 A collection of non-fiction essays on reading, writing, and life, including essays on scanning text for stressed/unstressed syllabus, experiences being a woman writer (and a woman in general), discussion of writing workshops, and an essay on uncomfortable footwear for women.

 Thoughts
Such an interesting look into Le Guin's ideas and writing processes. I loved her flowing, yet practical and complex, tips for writing. Le Guin discusses where the ideas for writing come from (hint: not from a mail in order), trying to honestly describe that nebulous, creative space of the writer's mind. She also notes that it can be dangerous to do writing in luxury (such as at a retreat), that luxury should not be a prerequisite for writing, and that it's up to you to make sure you have the practicalities of life (and your real way of making money) squared away. In another piece, Le Guin lays out the assumptions that is found in most fiction, that everyone is male, white, Christian, straight, and young. Breaking down these assumptions is useful for any writer.

 What most surprised me was her essay on women's footwear, noting that American cultural norms encourage women to wear shoes that damage their feet. I'm not sure I'm okay with her use of the practice of foot binding as an analogy, but it is an essay that seriously changed the way I think about this issue. I don't want to be complicit in the idea that women have to ruin their feet to be attractive, so I'm considering never wearing high heels again. The poem at the end about the writing woman was wonderful.

A Feast for Crows

Title: A Feast for Crows
Author: George R.R. Martin
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Summary (with spoilers):
This is the fourth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. As usual, each chapter follows the viewpoint of a specific character.

Cersei Lannister: Power hungry Cersei is queen regent now that Tommen is on the throne, but too young to rule. She puts her evil schemes into play, but makes the mistake of giving the Faith permission to build an army. In the middle of a plot to discredit Margaery, Tommen's wife, Cersei is locked up by the high septon and accused of various sins. She writes to Jamie to save her, but he does not come back to King's Landing to rescue her.

 Jamie Lannister: He manages to get Riverrun to surrender without a battle. Spends the entire book freaking out about how Cersei is sleeping with other people.

Brienne: The Maid of Tarth is on a quest to find Sansa Stark (and also hopes to find Arya, once she learns Arya is alive.) Brienne picks up some companions on her quest, including Poddrick (previously squire to Tyrion), and Ser Hyle, who proposes marriage. She slays some outlaws from previous books (Shagga, etc.), runs into Gendry at an inn, and saves a bunch of children by fighting Biter, even though she is grievously injured. Brienne is delivered to Lady Stoneheart (the reanimated Catelyn Stark), but Stoneheart believes Brienne has betrayed her, since she's carrying a Lannister sword. Brienne and friends are hanged, although it's ambiguous whether they die or whether they will be saved at the last second.

Sansa Stark: She's up in the Eyrie with Petyr (Littlefinger) being all creepy while she pretends to be his daughter. Petyr succeeds in keeping control of the Eyrie, at least for now.

Ayra Stark: Arya ends up as an apprentice at  the temple of the Many-Faced God in Braavos. She runs into Sam, although they don't know each other, and she kills a brother of the Knight's Watch who has strayed from his path. When she tells her mentor at the temple what she's done, he gives her a drink. The next day, she wakes up blind.

Samwell Tarly: Sam journeys to the Citadel in Oldtown to become a maester. On the journey, Aemon dies, and Sam sleeps with Gilly. In Oldtown, he meets up with apprentice Pate in the last chapter. If the reader can remember several hundred pages back to the prologue, we know that Pate has been killed, so this guy must be an impostor.

Meanwhile, we get the viewpoints of a bunch of random characters in Dorne and the Iron Islands. Arianne in Dorne tries to form a rebellion to have Marcella crowned queen of the Seven Kingdom. However, that backfires and her lover, Ser Oakheart, dies in the skirmish that follows their discovery. On the Iron Islands, a kingsmoot decides for Euron Crow's Eye over his brother Victarion and Asha Greyjoy. The islanders start raiding territories in the Seven Kingdoms.

My Thoughts:
For such a huge book, not much happened. Cersei does her weird plots (and her chapters take up the most out of any character in the book), but it's so clear that she's power mad that it's not much fun to read. Also, she sits through some boring council meetings, which means we have to sit through them too. And that bit with Lady Merryweather... It seemed like George R.R. Martin just got bored and wanted to throw in some sexy times. Didn't seem necessary.

Brienne wanders around doing nothing for most of the book. I like this character; she's one of the only unequivocally good people in the book. I wish her story had been better. We know where Sansa is, so it's not exciting for us to watch Brienne searching. We know Brienne is looking in the wrong places. Also, her ending was so unfair and sudden (although I don't believe she's dead).

What's with Ayra randomly killing some dude?! So unnecessary. Is George R.R. Martin trying to show that Ayra (whose been painted as a likable character up until this point) is actually evil? Because most good people don't go around murdering people who annoy them. I know his characters are all supposed to be a little rotten, but I don't know if I can go on liking Ayra if she's going to behave this way.

Those are my main problems with this book. I liked Sam's story and was happy to see more of him. I'm also interested to see how Petyr's plans play out, as he seems smarter than the other power hungry characters.

Of course, many of the main POV characters were left out of this book, since it was split into two novels. Here's hoping that the next book will be better.