ReaderMarija's Reviews

I love when an author includes a scene where the male lead cries. All of those pent up feelings… that fear and longing finally rising to the surface in a pure emotional release makes my heart swell. Loved reading those intimate moments between Eugenides and his queen. Turner does them rather well. It’s not just what’s said that makes those moments purely satisfying, but everything that’s left unsaid…that really illustrates the depth of feeling between those two characters. It gives the reader the freedom to consider the beauty of their relationship.

I also like that in each of the novels in the series, Turner offers multiple viewpoints in her storytelling. It allows the reader to see more of the action, to understand it better, than if she still had Eugenides as her narrator with his masked descriptions and comic gibes. As most of The King of Attolia is seen from Costis’s perspective, the reader gets to see the various layers that make up Eugenides’s character get slowly exposed—that behind all of that clownish bravado of his, there’s a real depth and strength to his character, that otherwise wasn’t as readily apparent. As I had said in my review for The Queen of Attolia, Gen’s wit is subtle; this book better substantiates that idea.

Also enjoyed the subtle humor in Turner’s inclusion of Gen’s figurative exposure of character and his literal exposure in the bathhouse. ;)

Truly, a good read.