The Canopy Keepers by Veronica G. Henry

So, I quite liked the premise of The Canopy Keepers. A hidden world existing alongside ours always gets me. However, I don’t really feel like it lived up to its promise. I felt The Canopy Keepers was just alright.

The pacing is really weird. The plot is also unfocused, swapping between Syrah’s goals without really reconciling them between swaps, just kind of letting the goals hang, unfinished. Getting repeats of Romelo’s goals, as well, a few times too many. We get it, you’re angry at the humans.

The “romance” between Syrah and Ochai is barely that. Seems silly, really. Also throws a wrench in Syrah’s convictions, I think. I mean, I’m glad she got to see some bad about Rhiza because of Ochai and not just Romelo and his little band of miscreants.

There was definitely a strong pro-environment message here. That’s hammered home a lot. Not overly annoyed about it or anything, but it’s there, existing.

The Canopy Keepers just tries to do a bit too much with not a good amount of time to do it in. I feel like it could have benefited from a good dose of world-building in addition to what there is. Probably would have made things a lot more clear. As it is, it rushes toward the ending and then spends forever actually ending. Not a big fan.

Favorite Line

"But colonizers, in their finite wisdom, assumed that they knew better. Once they stole the land and tried to destroy the people who called the place home, they stopped the burns. It took another hundred years and a lot of scorched forest for someone to rethink that brainless choice."

Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales by Tamora Pierce

Full transparency, I only read certain stories from this book and reviewed them in the order they were read. I’m not generally a fan of anthologies, so I read what’s relevant to the series I’m reading and leave the rest.

“Student of Ostriches”
      Kinda cute story of Kylaia and her essentially teaching herself to fight. I thought it was pretty obvious she was going to meet a Shang warrior at some stage and be brought on as a student.

“Elder Brother”
      Happy to see some follow up to Numair turning Tristan into a tree. I thought it was both kinda cute and kind of annoying… I hate, hate, hate when religions get involved in such hateful ways toward women. Qiom having to deal with learning to be a man was semi-interesting.

“Hidden Girl”
      A semi-continuation of the Qiom/ Fadal storyline. Follows a different girl, Tedry, who becomes an avatar for a non-binary god trying to bring balance to their religion. It was alright. I’m not a big fan of religion in general and especially not ones that demonize women, as I said earlier. Having someone try to fix that is better in my book.

“Nawat”
      I feel like Nawat’s character development has been walked back, but as we didn’t actually get to spend time with him outside of battles, perhaps not. I also know he’s a crow, but… yeah. I dunno. Not a super fan of Nawat anyway, though I am glad he decided against infanticide and continuing to be “crow enough” for the Rajmuat flock.
      Babies and the reality of their existence are shown here. I kind of like that it’s represented. It’s neat that Nawat can tell how Ochobai will grow. Seems like a marketable skill for the crows in Nawat’s band.

“Lost”
      Well Adria’s father’s a piece of work, that’s for sure. I really don’t have any other feelings about this one. Darkings are everywhere, which is kind of cool. Much shrugging.

“The Dragon’s Tale”
      This story is from Kitten’s POV. It was vaguely interesting, if kind of confusing at times. I liked getting to know Spots a bit, and Kitten a lot more.

Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce

A Mostly Spoiler Free Reread Review

I really, really love Trickster’s Queen. It has a great mix of intrigue and action. The main characters really leap off the page and even the background ones are fairly fleshed out for background characters. I definitely cried a few times, too, at different points throughout. So yeah, so good.

The foreshadowing around Dove is palpable. It is utterly clear with how she’s invested in the people and not just the court. Sarai is obviously too hot-headed for the role she’s meant to take, honestly. I didn’t say anything during my review of Trickster’s Choice because I knew what was coming… and I won’t say much here, but Sarai’s character arc makes sense for her, just not for the plans of those around her. Dove, on the other hand, is more perfect for her eventual role.

The thing between Aly and Nawat has escalated to a plot-relevant annoying place. I dislike romantic drama for the sake of drama… and the only thing that keeps this from tipping over the edge if Ulasim’s assertion that Nawat essentially needs to figure himself out. Most of Nawat’s character development is off-screen… and the relationship when he gets back is suddenly one of equals… it honestly stinks of something like a Life Bond. Much meh.

Darkings! I love them so, so much. They’re excellent as Aly’s spies and also for the ending battle, getting differing views of said battle than just Aly’s. Darkings are fun.

This is a little out of left field, but I really need to address this: Lovemaking doesn’t “often” hurt the first time. There doesn’t have to be blood involved at all. I’m pretty sure this nonsense came about because of a) the patriarchy, b) purity culture, and c) men/boys not realizing that their partners need more foreplay than they want to give. Seriously. Stop. Perpetuating. This. Myth.

I can’t really talk about much of the plot here, as what I might have to say is probably spoilery. Trickster’s Queen has a lot of stuff happening, including character deaths. It is very good and quite well plotted. 

Favorite Lines

"I will be a good girl and try not to get gutted in the market." - Junai

     "She has nothing to throw unless she picks up chair," said Trick. "Uh-oh."

     "She picked up chair," Secret explained

Winds of Fury by Mercedes Lackey

Winds of Fury is a lot. It has to do a lot to get to a conclusion that sees the end of enemies of Valdemar who have been enemies since Talia met Elspeth in Arrows of the Queen and deal with Valdemar's magic problem, which has been a problem since Vanyel died at the end of The Last Herald Mage trilogy. It does manage to do all these things, though some of how they get this is honestly convoluted and convenient all at the same time. Parts were fun and parts made me want to speed through as quickly as I could... but overall, I think Winds of Fury was quite good.

I'm going to get the "I didn't like this" part out of the way first. Mornelithe Falconsbane managed to survive... again. Thanks, I hate it. Having him actually team up... sorta... with Ancar also landed in the category of "Thanks, I hate it." It eventually led to a very satisfying stomping of at least one of the two (Gwena was magnificent), but I still did not enjoy their team-up at all. Those were the chapters I probably would have skimmed if I had remembered anything from this book.

My notes have about two paragraphs gushing about Vanyel and Stefan being back for a bit. I was incredibly satisfied seeing them again. I was also overall satisfied with the explanation as to what the hell happened with the vrondi and the anti-magic spell thingy in Valdemar... I've only been ranting about it since Collegium Chronicles... Anyway, the chapters with Van and Stefan were a breath of fresh air and a much-needed break from the dire circumstances that were the end of Winds of Change and the ongoing war with Hardorn. I am also very glad the anti-magic thing is done and over with. Glad we've got Herald Mages back.

I genuinely loved pretty much everything that happened upon Elspeth's return to Valdemar. The reaction of people to the gryphons was great. Kerowyn's reactions to everyone was great. I enjoyed Kero since her introduction and I'm not sure I realized how much I missed her until she showed up to talk with the gryphons et al.

But yeah... I think that's really all I've got to say about Winds of Fury. Well, I guess I should mention An'desha... he was there... part of that convoluted and convenient plotting thing I mentioned in the intro. I have many shrugs in his direction. Other than that, though, I'm overall satisfied with the book/end of this trilogy.

Favorite Lines

"The mage who knows how to use simple spells cleverly is just as effective as the Adept with no imagination." - Nyara

"'Glorious Destinies get you Glorious Funerals.'" - Vanyel via Stefen

"Love is as much trust as it is devotion." - Stefen

     "Stay awake, stop fading! Or--or I'll tell you Hawkbrother jokes! How many Hawkbrothers does it take for a mating circle?"

     :No... not that... anything but that...:

     "Only one, but he has to be flexible!"

     :I'm doomed...: - Elspeth and Darkwind

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

Honestly, I have really, really enjoyed Trickster's Choice all three times I've read it. I'm pretty sure it spoiled me for YA spy novels. Or at least those set in a medieval-ish time frame... as I have read no others, the jury's still technically out on that but anyway... Trickster's Choice is up there in my favorites of Tamora Pierce's Tortall novels, possibly even my favorite.

So firstly, I feel like Aly's relationship with Alanna is quite realistic. Alanna doesn't understand Aly because Aly's interests lie somewhere far different than Alanna's own. Aly finds Alanna's disdain for her chosen profession off-putting, to say the least. However, when push comes to shove, Alanna gets very protective and worried for Aly and Aly will leap to defend Alanna's honor if she feels like it's being even a little bit besmirched. It reads realistically to me, even if it isn't a huge part of the book.

Secondly, I've always envisioned Kyprioth as resembling Bruce Campbell's character Autolycus from Xena: Warrior Princess. This definitely isn't a big thing, but there it is. Kyprioth is an interesting portrayal of a trickster god, I think. He's depicted as being very set on his goal, even if he tries not to seem serious about it. I like it and him.

Thirdly, that thing I said in my intro about Trickster's Choice spoiling me for YA spy novels... yeah... looking at Collegium Chronicles and The Herald Spy by Mercedes Lackey here. I feel like Aly's story is just more realistic than Mags', for all Aly's got mages and humanoid crows and gods running about. Aly's background for spying actually makes more sense than Mags basically getting his assassin skills downloaded into his brain by his cousin or whatever. Pierce also fleshes out Aly's spying a lot better than Lackey ever did with Mags. Trickster's Choice is just so much better by far.

Fourth, this is probably where my personal biases color my review the most: The Nawat/Aly romance subplot. Not a fan this time. Not sure about my thoughts on it before, because I didn't write it down, but this time around I'm not so into it. Now I will admit, this is probably because romance is just rubbing me the wrong way lately and I'm embracing it or something, but yeah... I guess it's kinda cute, but... ehhhhhh. I really don't have any real explanation as to why this is, but I'm just not enamored with them as a pair. Now Nawat on his own is amusing. I kind of love the idea of a animal running around in human shape and corvids are way more intelligent than people give them credit for... so yeah. Nawat's fine. He and Aly as a couple... meh.

Dispensing with the numbering thing now, dunno why I even started that... but anyway... I feel like I also need to address the "white savior"-ness that is technically inherent here. Aly is a white girl coming into a largely black people situation in order to help them out through her wager with Kyprioth. That really stood out to me this time. The slavery aspect of the raka's situation was definitely not lost on me and that Aly came into the entire thing also as a slave... it scquicked. Now, Aly is also not actually being a "white savior," really, I don't think... and the half-laurin/half-raka girls she's trying to protect along with the raka servants and all are half-laurin... It's complicated and I'm not really sure I want to comment on it too much as a white girl myself so... yeah. I noticed all that and wanted to make sure it's clear. Aly is just one cog in the largely raka rebellion happening and I do feel like she's really only super prominent because of the whole thing with Kyprioth... but... yeah. That's it on that. Promise.

Little add-on cuz I forgot: Aly's is 16! She's told by both her parents that her chosen profession is too dangerous, but at the same time, they both want her to be doing something with her life... just not the spying. And she's 16! I think this sort of shit is unfair from parents today and Aly's supposedly "a woman grown" because medieval-ish time frame and all. Just... ugh.

But yeah... Trickster's Choice is a really good read. My final note is the foreshadowing around Sarai and Dove was also kind of obvious to me this time, but I have read this duology three times at this point so... yeah. Awesome book. Definitely my favorite in my Tortall reread so far.

Favorite Lines

"I do not like interesting things," she said, amusement in her eyes even though her tone was one of reproof. "They tend to bite painfully." - Duchess Winnamine Balitang

"Too much information is bad for you mortals. Just loook at your history if you want proof." - Kyprioth

"We build up pretty pictures of men, when we want to be in love. We hate to have them ruined." - Duchess Winnamine Balitang

Tortall: A Spy's Guide by Tamora Pierce

This book is gorgeous. The cover has raised portions and metallic portions and it just really pretty. The inside is quite well designed, as well. I like it when stuff like this has internal design instead of just boring white-on-black pages. There are illustrations every so often, they're also quite well done. I really appreciated being able to see what one of Blayce's "Killing Machines" (from Lady Knight ) looked like, because I wasn't able to properly visualize that before.

A Spy's Guide was mostly interesting. I'm not entirely sure the cook's diary was needed, but otherwise it was a fun look behind the scenes of the Tortall books. I especially liked Daine's notes on the Immortals and Thom's timeline. Speaking of timeline, A Spy's Guide covers bits and pieces between Song of the Lioness and Tricksters and even a tiny bit beyond that. The timeline at the very end of the book is really quite exhaustive.

Really a nice addition to the Tortall series. I liked it a lot.

Favorite Excerpt

The shukusen speaks plainly:

You amuse me, sir.

Please stay. Please go.

Bleed.    ~ Nealan of Queenscove

Winds of Change by Mercedes Lackey

So first, Winds of Change has a ridiculously long “Prologue.” It’s a recap of the events thus-far. Enough that you probably didn’t need to read Winds of Fate. I found this an interesting choice. Winds of Change itself is honestly middling. There’s a lot of “technobabble” to be found in Elspeth being taught magic and then setting up for helping with the k’Sheyna Heartstone.

I kind of liked being “taught” magic along with Darkwind and Elspeth. Helps to grasp what they’re doing a lot better. Which is a very good thing as this is the most in-depth into magic working Lackey has ever gone. Seriously, got into the “technobabble” weeds of how magic works or can work. It was honestly a lot and I’m not sure it was overall strictly necessary.

I think it’s funny that Gwena up and slips in saying “Sayv - Savil” instead of just Savil. Hints and hints at the true nature of Companions… or some of them anyway. I thought I remembered that particular personality correctly, so it makes me happy I at least remembered a tidbit from this book.

Interesting for Skif and Wintermoon to essentially doing some therapy between them. I probably wouldn’t have guessed that Skif did some solo assassination. That aside, I am really happy with the relationships in Winds of Change. The platonic ones as well as the romantic. It’s nice to not have Lifebonding shoved down our throats yet again. Nyara and Skif’s relationship is interesting. Completely opposite of how he was treating Elspeth last book, Skif supports Nyara’s decisions completely, even if he doesn’t like them. I can definitely see the beginnings of a strong relationship that can face whatever hardships end up in their way. Darkwind and Elspeth had kind of a classic “annoyance to lovers” arc that was pleasant enough.

Welp, Mornelithe isn’t dead after all and making some leaps of logic in his need for revenge. I find it semi-interesting that he’s actually Ma’ar rather than a reincarnation. Just body-jumping through the centuries. His absolute confusion over being thwarted this time is a little hilarious. Dunno why, after all this time, he thought things would stay the same after he’d attack k’Sheyna the first time. Much eye rolling. But also… how’d he miss Firesong? Mornelithe honestly comes out of this feeling much stupider than he probably should have. I was kind of viewing him as a Voldemort level baddie, but he’s just too… not that.

Ha! I KNEW Firesong was one of Vanyel’s descendants! Not sure how relevant that actually is to the plot, but I had a feeling. Also, in random “cameos,” we get confirmation that Tarma has passed away. She’s the rider who mind-speaks to Elspeth, in case you missed that. She isn’t named, but it’s still pretty obvious as she all but names herself to Elspeth.

Honestly, the ending to this one feels needlessly contrived. A way to get everyone back together, finally, after The Mage Wars separated them so they can… do stuff. Stuff I don’t remember. It’s both complicated and simple, but still feels very contrived. I had pegged the “black riders” as Shin’a’in pretty quickly, so them showing up in/at the Vale was not a surprise.

So… yeah. I liked Winds of Change well enough, though I will not lie, somewhere in the middle of the “technobabble,” I was semi-seriously considering DNFing it. I am glad I stuck it out, though, even if the ending was lackluster, in my opinion.

Favorite Line

"Unhappy servants were inefficient servants." - Mornelithe Falconsbane's narration

Protector of the Small Series Overview

Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce

Spoilers for Protector of the Small and all preceding books in the Tortall timeline. You have been warned. This also isn't written in any particular order this time, just as thoughts came to me.

I have always loved Protector of the Small. I was first recommended it by my Junior High Librarian, Mrs. O. Protector of the Small was actually my introduction to the world of Tortall and Tamora Pierce's work. It's stuck with me all these years and even though I just finished it, I can say I'm looking forward to reading it again in the future.

This time around, I may have found the teenage romances a bit on the annoying side. You might have noticed that in my reviews, assuming you read them. I'm pretty sure they were just kind of a side note before this read but... yeah. Much shrugging. Not a fan of the romance. Apparently Kel isn't really, either. I found out during my reread that Tamora Pierce has said that Kel is a "aromantic asexual," which kind of tracks... though I'm not entirely sure about the "aromantic" part. She seemed romantic enough to me. But, again, I dunno. I've got the asexual part down, but sex isn't off the table for me and I do love my boyfriend so... *throws up hands in defeat.*

Having read the series before, I knew all the stuff surrounding Joren. I had forgotten that he died and actually confused his ending with the ending of one of Alanna's adversaries. But yeah, Joren's a disgusting misogynist and I hate him from the word "go." That said, I do feel like Kel getting the treatment she did from other misogynists was fairly realistic. I feel like it was necessary in that this is essentially a book for adolescent girls and it sort of prepares them for what it's like in the real world. Kel faces down men who don't believe she's good enough to be in their field in a quasi-medieval world in the same we we're still having to do in 2024. Seriously, this stuff still happens. Kel's a good role model in some ways in which to deal with that nonsense. Not the best, but Kel never claims to be perfect.

I didn't find Blayce all that interesting, either. Like yes, what he did to the children to make his mechs was gross and needed to be dealt with but... Blayce himself was just boring. The entire point of the end of the story was how Kel manages to rally people to her side and not really the defeat of Blayce. It is the culmination of the training that Raoul decided she needed. Kel is definitely a commander, of commoners, nobles, animals, etc. She just has the ability to do the direct commanding and trust the people she's delegated to. It's great.

I feel like the griffin was added in to add more fantasy to this otherwise non-fantastical story. Like yes, Kel's animals are all super smart and act in ways normal animals wouldn't. However, even with the return of the Immortals, Kel doesn't really interact with any outside of the centaurs in the Royal Forest and the griffin. The griffin isn't even really that fantastical, outside of his ability to melt cages and fly. He essentially serves as a surrogate child Kel isn't even supposed to get too attached to.. and an abusive one at that.

I like Lord Wyldon's turnaround from beginning to end. I do think he was super harsh in the beginning (see my First Test review), like, super harsh, with an unrealistic view of women. I feel like he came around slowly, but steadily. The fact that he honestly though Kel wasn't going to finish her training after she'd done most of it just because she got kidnapped or whatever it was made me want to slap him... but the fact that he came around to her enough that he realized he was stupid for not giving her permission to go after her people in the end... I also think was honestly a little unrealistic to just let go with little remarking, but it fits with Kel's overall story. I think Owen softened Lord Wyldon some more once he became Wyldon's squire. That infectious attitude toward things could not have helped but rub off at least a little, even if it was wartime.

It struck me on this read-through that these are largely stories about nobles and not the commoners of Tortall. Kel is seen as extremely odd for caring about the commoners, actually. Raoul and Wyldon think she’s absolutely nuts for going to rescue Lalasa. Merric thinks she's nuts for going after the people of Haven. It’s really hammered home how weird it is for the noble of Tortall to care about commoners. I really like that about Kel. She’s like “I’m becoming a knight for all the people, not just the nobles.” It’s progressive of her for her circumstances. It's definitely not a perfect representation, but it's better than a noble just caring about other nobles.

I feel like Protector of the Small is a nice middle ground between the sparse descriptions of Song of the Lioness and the overly descriptive Beka Cooper series. It's by no means perfect, but I feel like I could inhabit Kel's world. There's enough description for me to imagine what things actually look like and enough left to my imagination to fill in the rest.

Anyway, I love Protector of the Small. I think the first half of the quartet is better than the second, but the quality doesn't drop off drastically. I think it's a good series for the adolescent market it's aimed at, but it's also definitely readable as an adult. It doesn't talk down, which is awesome.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

I didn't really have any expectations going into The Epic Crush, so, those were met. I thought it was okay. Decently paced, uhm... the characters were pretty good. At least Genie and Quentin. Most of the other characters were pretty flat, to be honest. I felt zero level of threat around the Big Bad, even when said Big Bad was revealed... and I clocked said Big Bad well before that reveal, as well. Just had a feeling.

I am quite glad I had a bit of a primer on Journey to the West before reading The Epic Crush. I feel like that's a kind of a must, here. The stakes are a little jumped up if you're familiar with it, at least. I highly recommend Overly Sarcastic Productions over on YouTube for an ongoing summary of Journey to the West... or if you're interested at all in mythology, tropes, and history. They're awesome. Definitely allowed me to remember at least a couple of the demons Genie and Quentin fight.

I thought the college applications process was well documented here. Having never gone through that kind of rigorous nonsense myself, it did feel pretty realistic to what others of my peer group would have gone through. I'm honestly just happy this is a break from the usual teen stories revolving around dances and such. Genie talks about zero school dances, so that's nice.

But yeah... The Epic Crush was just alright. I'm calling this a one and done. Not really interested in continuing the series.