Katherine has ascended from being the weakest potential queen to the strongest. Arsinoe found out that her power lies in poison. Mirabella faces the most opposition as the one having the most power. All three sisters vie for a throne because of toxic traditions that call for the death of two of the triplets only to repeat again with their own children when their reign is over.
There's something about this series that I'm reluctant to read it at first, but before I know it I'm halfway through the book in one sitting. The story just grabs me even though there are a lot of plots and main characters to follow. I grew to hate Katherine in this book because she's the only one gunning to kill her sisters, trying to game the system, and pretending to be a poisoner when she's not. I felt for her last book, but my sympathy is gone now Arsinoe makes some pretty terrible decisions this book. Her core is still that strong, practical woman we saw in the previous book who completely expects to die in this fight. Mirabella gets caught up in misunderstandings, but she's the most steadfastly good person in the book. I like all three sisters in their own way. Some are making frustrating decisions and turning against each other, but all the sisters are sympathetic.
The action seems to move much faster since the world has already been established. The sisters' past is seen in more detail as they meet someone they haven't seen since they were taken from the Black Cottage. It puts their reality more into perspective and shows how the traditions of their society have harmed them. The only lacking parts are in the side characters like Jules and Joseph. I didn't really care for their relationship or the overprotective way Jules treats Arsinoe. I will read the series to the end, but it does take me a little while to get into the story.
My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins
* Invictus
Farway Gaius McCarthy has a bit of reputation because he was born outside of time. His mother (from the 2300's) recorded history and fell in love with a Roman gladiator in 95 AD, which of course is forbidden. Facts are fudged so Farway's parentage doesn't come into question. His dream is to travel through history like his mother, who never returned from one of her assignments. Farway's whole world comes crashing down when he fails his final exam and is forever barred from his dream. A less savory man offers him a job to illicitly travel through time to obtain lost artifacts, but it all goes wrong when the girl who sabotaged his test holds one of those artifacts hostage to join their crew. Who is she and what does she want?
I really enjoyed the first half of the book. I love the idea of a world where time travel exists and it's an actual job to go back in time, blend in, and record key events for both historical record and public enjoyment. Even on illicit trips to the past, it's important to have a good engineer to do all the calculations and a good historian who will know what fashion, materials, and language would be commonplace for the time. I wish we could have seen a little more what a typical day in that world would have been, but more time is spent in other times.
Farway and his crew really drew me into the story. While Farway is a bit conceited and annoying, his romances with Priya is adorable and keeps him grounded. Priya is the medic onboard. Her steadfast nature balances out the more flighty and wild people on the crew and I liked her best. I do find it a little annoying that they are already in love when they start so we don't get to see how it developed. Another unspoken romance blossoms between carefree, colorful Imogen and by the numbers Gram. To round out the crew, they have a red panda generally being adorable and getting into mischief. The crew dynamic is balanced and they are really more family than friends.
The second half of the book revealed the mysterious girl's identity and introduced a whole disparate concept to the story that I didn't enjoy as much as everything else. The story was exciting and the characters grew and changed, but that concept just didn't really mesh with everything else for me. I rode out the story and generally enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't read another book if it were a series. I would definitely read more from the author, but maybe not a science fiction based book.
My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins
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