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Elemental Blessings #5
Whispering Wood
The long-awaited new book in the Elemental Blessings series!
Valentina Serlast has reluctantly traveled to the royal city to witness her brother Darien be crowned the king of Welce. A hunti woman with an affinity for the forest, Val is much more comfortable living in isolation on her country estates, almost forgotten by everyone. When Darien convinces her to extend her stay, she is drawn into an unfamiliar whirl of activity, meeting with ambassadors from other countries, becoming friends with the unpredictable Princess Corene, and trying to learn the secrets of a glamorous foreign visitor named Melissande.
But nothing makes Val more breathless than the reappearance of Sebastian Ardelay, a red-headed rogue who has been her best friend since childhood. She quickly learns that Sebastian has been risking his life in a dangerous venture that could get him banned from the kingdom—or even lead Welce to the brink of war.
Valentina Serlast has reluctantly traveled to the royal city to witness her brother Darien be crowned the king of Welce. A hunti woman with an affinity for the forest, Val is much more comfortable living in isolation on her country estates, almost forgotten by everyone. When Darien convinces her to extend her stay, she is drawn into an unfamiliar whirl of activity, meeting with ambassadors from other countries, becoming friends with the unpredictable Princess Corene, and trying to learn the secrets of a glamorous foreign visitor named Melissande.
But nothing makes Val more breathless than the reappearance of Sebastian Ardelay, a red-headed rogue who has been her best friend since childhood. She quickly learns that Sebastian has been risking his life in a dangerous venture that could get him banned from the kingdom—or even lead Welce to the brink of war.
302 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2023
93 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Shinn
60 books2,294 followersI’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
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January 3, 2024I'm not going to give this a rating. If we say for the sake of simplicity that it takes ten drafts of a book before it reaches publishable quality, I'd say this was a draft 2, maybe a draft 3. The other books Shinn wrote after she left Ace Books (those Echo books that no one but me enjoyed, The Shuddering City) read more as drafts 5 or 6, all of them with enough of a snappy pace and nail-biting tension to keep me turning the pages in spite of any perceived flaws. Whatever your opinions of those books were, they at least had a vague idea of where they wanted to go and how they were going to get there.
I think Shinn knew where she wanted Whispering Wood to go, but was still finding out how she was going to piece everything together. I won't bother listing off the issues, but they were all traits a story might have in its early stages. I might have looked past this if the two leads (Our MC and her romantic interest) had been properly developed, but they too felt like they were still very early in the making, with both of them barely skating by on the tropes and vague ideas Shinn had for them. This isn't a crime at all. It's okay to have shaky characterization in your early drafts. It's okay to have shaky anything drafts 1-9. I just wish this had been a draft 10. I so wanted it to be.
Good points of the book: 1) Darien was a very strong and present character. All the best scenes were with him. 2) Sibling drama between Darien and Valentina! 3) Shinn's writing is very elegant, clean, and an overall pleasure to read, even if I was disappointed with her plot and characterizations here in Whispering Wood.
I was over the moon when I found out we were finally getting a hunti book (the element I related to the most), and was ecstatic to hear it would be about Darien's sister! So naturally I'm disappointed. I'm definitely always greedily awaiting Shinn's yearly releases, but I would have been happy to wait a year or two longer for her to whip this book into proper shape.
Do I blame Shinn? No. I can't be certain, but I don't think she has a professional editor anymore, as Fairwood Press is a one-man army. I think she's doing the best she can on her own, and to her credit, her writing is such that I would take even this book any day over the mediocre new releases (from other authors and publishers) I've tried reading over the past ten years.
I DO blame Ace books. I don't know what happened there. If they dropped Shinn entirely, if her editor simply retired and none of the others clicked with Shinn's work. It's possible Shinn decided to leave on her own and no one is to blame. Nevertheless, I strongly desire to find whoever is in charge of Ace and throttle them with my bare hands. They should have tried harder to keep her on their roster. And other publishers should have jumped at the chance to take Shinn on.
Although. Given the state of the publishing industry and the kinds of books on the shelves these days, it is highly likely that an editor would not have done anything even if Shinn had had one. Can't remember the last time I read a new book and thought, "Hm, yes, the editor really did a decent job here."
Sorry for another review that dovetailed into a critique of current publishing trends, but what can I say. I'm frustrated.
I think Shinn knew where she wanted Whispering Wood to go, but was still finding out how she was going to piece everything together. I won't bother listing off the issues, but they were all traits a story might have in its early stages. I might have looked past this if the two leads (Our MC and her romantic interest) had been properly developed, but they too felt like they were still very early in the making, with both of them barely skating by on the tropes and vague ideas Shinn had for them. This isn't a crime at all. It's okay to have shaky characterization in your early drafts. It's okay to have shaky anything drafts 1-9. I just wish this had been a draft 10. I so wanted it to be.
Good points of the book: 1) Darien was a very strong and present character. All the best scenes were with him. 2) Sibling drama between Darien and Valentina! 3) Shinn's writing is very elegant, clean, and an overall pleasure to read, even if I was disappointed with her plot and characterizations here in Whispering Wood.
I was over the moon when I found out we were finally getting a hunti book (the element I related to the most), and was ecstatic to hear it would be about Darien's sister! So naturally I'm disappointed. I'm definitely always greedily awaiting Shinn's yearly releases, but I would have been happy to wait a year or two longer for her to whip this book into proper shape.
Do I blame Shinn? No. I can't be certain, but I don't think she has a professional editor anymore, as Fairwood Press is a one-man army. I think she's doing the best she can on her own, and to her credit, her writing is such that I would take even this book any day over the mediocre new releases (from other authors and publishers) I've tried reading over the past ten years.
I DO blame Ace books. I don't know what happened there. If they dropped Shinn entirely, if her editor simply retired and none of the others clicked with Shinn's work. It's possible Shinn decided to leave on her own and no one is to blame. Nevertheless, I strongly desire to find whoever is in charge of Ace and throttle them with my bare hands. They should have tried harder to keep her on their roster. And other publishers should have jumped at the chance to take Shinn on.
Although. Given the state of the publishing industry and the kinds of books on the shelves these days, it is highly likely that an editor would not have done anything even if Shinn had had one. Can't remember the last time I read a new book and thought, "Hm, yes, the editor really did a decent job here."
Sorry for another review that dovetailed into a critique of current publishing trends, but what can I say. I'm frustrated.
January 6, 2024
Oh, Sharon Shinn...the hell happened to you? This was not very good, and it was frustrating because I know Shinn is capable of much, much better - characters who leap off the page, romances that even grumpy misanthropes can get behind, plots in which things happen and matter. None of those are evident in Whispering Wood.
This is the story of Darien Serlast's neglected sister Valentina, who has come of age largely without the attention of her increasingly absent older brother. While he was hobnobbing with royalty, she was burying their father, then their mother, and running a farm. Now, at 27, Val has been summoned to Darien's coronation in the capital, and she doesn't know what's worse - having to socialize with her relatives, picking up her strained relationship with her brother where they left off, discovering that her childhood friend is in town and involved in something unsavory and dangerous.
Not a whole lot happens until the final quarter. Val is hunti (wood and bone) like Darien, sharing some of his stubborn, unyielding temperament, initially determined to not forgive her brother or like his wife and daughters. There are meals and shopping, random blessings, and a sadly chemistry-free romance that held no appeal for me. I have no patience for attracted, unattached adult couples who somehow find ways to not be together.
I think what Whispering Wood does well is grief - Val's grief for her dead mother and lost brother, grief as an ugly, physical thing with long suckers that latch on even years later.
Val is otherwise not a very interesting heroine, unfortunately, and comes across as much younger than 27. Other Shinn books have had heroines with huge personalities who dominated their stories - Zoe from Troubled Waters and Rachel from Archangel - but Whispering Wood seems to be less about Val than about wrapping up arcs for characters in previous books in this series. All the couples are there, all apparently still happy (what are the odds?), getting on with their happily-ever-after, which feels a bit pat.
It's a boring note for this series to end on. Despite one very interesting scene with trees, I think I like Whispering Wood least of the five books. It was a gentle, steady slide down from the five stars of Troubled Waters. Let's say 2.5 stars, rounding up for nostalgia.
I still like the world enough to print out the elemental blessings from Sharon Shinn's website and pull three random blessings for 2024. They are:
Serenity (torz - earth)
Certainty (hunti - wood and bone)
Health (torz - earth)
Not a bad set, and all things that were sorely lacking in 2023 for me. Let's hope this one's better!
This is the story of Darien Serlast's neglected sister Valentina, who has come of age largely without the attention of her increasingly absent older brother. While he was hobnobbing with royalty, she was burying their father, then their mother, and running a farm. Now, at 27, Val has been summoned to Darien's coronation in the capital, and she doesn't know what's worse - having to socialize with her relatives, picking up her strained relationship with her brother where they left off, discovering that her childhood friend is in town and involved in something unsavory and dangerous.
Not a whole lot happens until the final quarter. Val is hunti (wood and bone) like Darien, sharing some of his stubborn, unyielding temperament, initially determined to not forgive her brother or like his wife and daughters. There are meals and shopping, random blessings, and a sadly chemistry-free romance that held no appeal for me. I have no patience for attracted, unattached adult couples who somehow find ways to not be together.
I think what Whispering Wood does well is grief - Val's grief for her dead mother and lost brother, grief as an ugly, physical thing with long suckers that latch on even years later.
Val is twenty-five and her mother has just died. The event is both long expected and absolutely catastrophic. Val had thought she was prepared for grief, but she finds that the expectation of loss and the reality of loss are such totally different experiences that they have absolutely no resemblance to each other. [...] She expected grief to be an emotional reaction, but instead it is almost physical. She feels as though her body has been hollowed out, her insides scraped clean. Her stomach and her lungs and her heart are no longer functioning; her feet trip constantly, her hands are clumsy, she does not seem to be able to judge speed or distance. Her head, by contrast, is hot and dense and packed with a tangled swirl of words and images and thoughts she cannot pin down.
Val is otherwise not a very interesting heroine, unfortunately, and comes across as much younger than 27. Other Shinn books have had heroines with huge personalities who dominated their stories - Zoe from Troubled Waters and Rachel from Archangel - but Whispering Wood seems to be less about Val than about wrapping up arcs for characters in previous books in this series. All the couples are there, all apparently still happy (what are the odds?), getting on with their happily-ever-after, which feels a bit pat.
It's a boring note for this series to end on. Despite one very interesting scene with trees, I think I like Whispering Wood least of the five books. It was a gentle, steady slide down from the five stars of Troubled Waters. Let's say 2.5 stars, rounding up for nostalgia.
I still like the world enough to print out the elemental blessings from Sharon Shinn's website and pull three random blessings for 2024. They are:
Serenity (torz - earth)
Certainty (hunti - wood and bone)
Health (torz - earth)
Not a bad set, and all things that were sorely lacking in 2023 for me. Let's hope this one's better!
July 25, 2024
By itself and compared to other authors in the genre, this book merits at least a strong 3,5 or a "weak" 4 stars.
Compared to the Big Bang that was Troubled Waters in this series and Jeweled Fire that was a lesser one, but still a Bang, it is 2,5 stars at most.
It was very readable, nicely written and entertaining, just not enough.
Let's go for 3 stars as an in-between.
Compared to the Big Bang that was Troubled Waters in this series and Jeweled Fire that was a lesser one, but still a Bang, it is 2,5 stars at most.
It was very readable, nicely written and entertaining, just not enough.
Let's go for 3 stars as an in-between.
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December 19, 2023A new, almost surprise Sharon Shinn book, the 5th (and thematically completing) a well loved series of her fantasy books - each a standalone romance. I was very happy at the news of it
I am not going to rate it, rating is hard. But just warning any accidental readers, do not judge the rest of the series by this, there is an ocean of difference between say this and Troubled Waters.
It feels very much like a romance series, rather than a fantasy series, in the sense that books late in the series focus a lot on the reader spending time with characters of the previous volumes and basking in the HEAs - not a standalone. Not my cup of tea for sure. Otherwise the plot was a bit wonky for me. And sadly (for me at least), the romance just felt perfunctory, I was feeling nothing for them both.
I am not going to rate it, rating is hard. But just warning any accidental readers, do not judge the rest of the series by this, there is an ocean of difference between say this and Troubled Waters.
It feels very much like a romance series, rather than a fantasy series, in the sense that books late in the series focus a lot on the reader spending time with characters of the previous volumes and basking in the HEAs - not a standalone. Not my cup of tea for sure. Otherwise the plot was a bit wonky for me. And sadly (for me at least), the romance just felt perfunctory, I was feeling nothing for them both.
December 10, 2023
Shinn returns to the world of the Elemental Blessings for this romance/adventure involving Valentina Serlast, sister to the new king of Welce, and Sebastian Ardelay, her childhood friend who is fond of a little danger in his life.
There's a lot of adventure and international intrigue in the story, mixed in with a touching and emotional story of family reconciliation and personal growth. And romance, of course.
I had a few quibbles with the book. The story and characters were worth 5 stars. Shinn knows how to spin a tale and populate it with real people. But while I was engrossed in the story, the occasional rough patches in the prose would trip me up. The book really needed another edit to eliminate the repetitions, polish the rough spots, etc.
However, the technical issues didn't really prevent me from enjoying being back in this world. It was like a long-delayed reunion with old friends.
I am a longtime fan of the author's work and I've read everything she's written. I don't know why she is no longer with a major publisher, but I'll keep reading her books no matter who puts them out.
There's a lot of adventure and international intrigue in the story, mixed in with a touching and emotional story of family reconciliation and personal growth. And romance, of course.
I had a few quibbles with the book. The story and characters were worth 5 stars. Shinn knows how to spin a tale and populate it with real people. But while I was engrossed in the story, the occasional rough patches in the prose would trip me up. The book really needed another edit to eliminate the repetitions, polish the rough spots, etc.
However, the technical issues didn't really prevent me from enjoying being back in this world. It was like a long-delayed reunion with old friends.
I am a longtime fan of the author's work and I've read everything she's written. I don't know why she is no longer with a major publisher, but I'll keep reading her books no matter who puts them out.
dnf
January 30, 2024Normally I don't comment on a DNF, but I did read 100 pages, and I did buy this at full price, so I do want to say a little something.
The biggest problem here is the lack of professional content editing. It hits hard before the book even opens. In an opening note, Shinn explains that in Troubled Waters, Darien said he had two sisters and a hunti mother, but in this book, he has one sister and a torz mother. The reader is meant to assume he was so thrown off by his attraction to Zoe that he forgot the number of sisters he had. This really threw me before I'd read a word. I never would have known; despite having done and seriously enjoyed a full series reread before picking this up, I have no memory of that line. What this said to me is that somewhere along the line, Shinn found the consistency error and decided not to edit the book to be accurate to the series and to just ret con her own work. It's a very strange choice, given that at least in the first hundred pages, those facts would have been easy to modify to be correct.
Aside from that, characterization of Valentina and her love interest is lacking, though he is developed enough that I do already dislike him. It's hard for me to say if Valentina doesn't feel real or if it's that I can't help knowing that she's not real because of that intro note.
Maybe I'll give this another shot someday since I do own it, but for now it was a disappointment. Boy do I wish the publisher had gone ahead and done the fifth and final book.
The biggest problem here is the lack of professional content editing. It hits hard before the book even opens. In an opening note, Shinn explains that in Troubled Waters, Darien said he had two sisters and a hunti mother, but in this book, he has one sister and a torz mother. The reader is meant to assume he was so thrown off by his attraction to Zoe that he forgot the number of sisters he had. This really threw me before I'd read a word. I never would have known; despite having done and seriously enjoyed a full series reread before picking this up, I have no memory of that line. What this said to me is that somewhere along the line, Shinn found the consistency error and decided not to edit the book to be accurate to the series and to just ret con her own work. It's a very strange choice, given that at least in the first hundred pages, those facts would have been easy to modify to be correct.
Aside from that, characterization of Valentina and her love interest is lacking, though he is developed enough that I do already dislike him. It's hard for me to say if Valentina doesn't feel real or if it's that I can't help knowing that she's not real because of that intro note.
Maybe I'll give this another shot someday since I do own it, but for now it was a disappointment. Boy do I wish the publisher had gone ahead and done the fifth and final book.
April 1, 2024
3 stars for me, sometimes verging on 3.5. I continue to love the world and the magic-light worldbuilding: Sharon Shinn has a real gift for making stories flow well. Unfortunately, the core romantic relationship didn't quite hook me-- and after so long waiting for a book with a hunti (wood and bone) female lead, I found Val a bit underwhelming. She comes off as younger and less certain than I expected, more like an emotional teenager than a grieving adult. She's also been quite offstage for the rest of the series, without the lead-up that the previous few leads have had, so the groundwork isn't quite there. I'm not sure if this just needed a few more revisions, but the result didn't quite click for me in the way that gems like Troubled Waters and Archangel have. RTC.
November 11, 2024
Val is the sister of the king--the almost king that is.
When she is called to the capitol in order to attend her brother's coronation, she is less than thrilled--certain she does not belong in the city, so far from her whispering forest, to celebrate a brother who long-since abandoned her.
Then she sees Sebastian. And she knows that means trouble, because Sebastian is always in trouble. Sure enough, he is smuggling illegal goods in and out of the country under her brother's nose. She should not be so glad to see him.
Then an unplanned guest on a mysterious mission arrives at the palace--endangering the entire country. And, well, both Val and Sebastian are oddly entangled in dire trouble.
It was lovely to return to the world of Sharon Shinn's Elemental Blessings series. I read this book during a difficult week and am grateful to the author for sharing this story.
When she is called to the capitol in order to attend her brother's coronation, she is less than thrilled--certain she does not belong in the city, so far from her whispering forest, to celebrate a brother who long-since abandoned her.
Then she sees Sebastian. And she knows that means trouble, because Sebastian is always in trouble. Sure enough, he is smuggling illegal goods in and out of the country under her brother's nose. She should not be so glad to see him.
Then an unplanned guest on a mysterious mission arrives at the palace--endangering the entire country. And, well, both Val and Sebastian are oddly entangled in dire trouble.
It was lovely to return to the world of Sharon Shinn's Elemental Blessings series. I read this book during a difficult week and am grateful to the author for sharing this story.
November 16, 2023
3.5 stars
It was a darn good yarn. I got to spend time with several of my favorite characters from the other books of the series. And I met a new one, the new protagonist - Valentina Serlast, the sister to the king of Welce.
Val is a complex, multifaceted character, and although she isn't as captivating or charismatic as some of Shinn's other female heroines, she is worth reading about. I enjoyed her story.
The writing is as strong and clear as I'm used to from this author, the pacing is quick, and the tension grows steadily as the story progresses.
The only complaint I have is in formatting. I read the kindle version, and in some parts of the text, the letter 'j' was inexplicably replaced with '***'.
Otherwise - a decent addition to the Elemental Blessings series.
It was a darn good yarn. I got to spend time with several of my favorite characters from the other books of the series. And I met a new one, the new protagonist - Valentina Serlast, the sister to the king of Welce.
Val is a complex, multifaceted character, and although she isn't as captivating or charismatic as some of Shinn's other female heroines, she is worth reading about. I enjoyed her story.
The writing is as strong and clear as I'm used to from this author, the pacing is quick, and the tension grows steadily as the story progresses.
The only complaint I have is in formatting. I read the kindle version, and in some parts of the text, the letter 'j' was inexplicably replaced with '***'.
Otherwise - a decent addition to the Elemental Blessings series.
November 12, 2023
I enjoy this series so much! I finished the book in one sitting, and loved getting to return to Welce and in the point of view of someone so very different! I really grew to like Valentina, and hope more books in this world can be written!
November 15, 2023
lovely ending to the Elemental Blessings series
I want to say this series of Sharon Shinn’s is my FAVORITE, but honestly . . . they’re ALL my favorites because of her fantastic writing. The angels, the safekeepers, the Thirteen Houses, the shape changers: ALL OF THEM.
The first chapter of this book immediately drew me in. I loved the way the chapters that looked back started with Valentina’s age, made it so clear, I was never guessing or confused and I really enjoyed the backstory of the childhood summers she and Sebastian shared. Also, the incredibly romantic and loyal ways that he finds to gift/contact Valentina every year on the anniversary of her mother’s death SLAYED ME. And Darien’s surprise at the end! No spoilers, but it made me laugh out loud.
I want to say this series of Sharon Shinn’s is my FAVORITE, but honestly . . . they’re ALL my favorites because of her fantastic writing. The angels, the safekeepers, the Thirteen Houses, the shape changers: ALL OF THEM.
The first chapter of this book immediately drew me in. I loved the way the chapters that looked back started with Valentina’s age, made it so clear, I was never guessing or confused and I really enjoyed the backstory of the childhood summers she and Sebastian shared. Also, the incredibly romantic and loyal ways that he finds to gift/contact Valentina every year on the anniversary of her mother’s death SLAYED ME. And Darien’s surprise at the end! No spoilers, but it made me laugh out loud.
November 15, 2023
I will preface this by saying I've been reading this author's books for at least a decade and a half, possibly two by now. So, I really looked forward to this book, especially since it's been so long since the last Elemental Blessings book. I enjoyed seeing several past characters show up (including all four past MCs).
Unfortunately, Valentina ruined this for me. She was consistently immature (I would have assumed she was younger than Corene and roughly ten years younger than she actually was), petulant, and self-centered. I didn't think much of her male counterpart either, but I can at least name some positive traits he had.
My takeaway from this is that I should've just reread Troubled Waters or Jeweled Fire again instead.
Unfortunately, Valentina ruined this for me. She was consistently immature (I would have assumed she was younger than Corene and roughly ten years younger than she actually was), petulant, and self-centered. I didn't think much of her male counterpart either, but I can at least name some positive traits he had.
My takeaway from this is that I should've just reread Troubled Waters or Jeweled Fire again instead.
February 19, 2025
A wonderful entry in this world. Each of the books in the Elemental Blessings can be read as a standalone. However knowing the other characters and seeing how each is viewed by themselves, and then by others in the other books lends a richness to the world. This book has a different and equally interesting main character, Val. I so enjoyed her story. There is something evocative and lyrical about Sharon Shinn 's writing that makes her a joy to read. I was so sad when I finished the book, not because of the story resolve, but because I wish I could keep reading about this world and these characters indefinitely. There is always re-reading, I suppose.
August 31, 2024
Completing the set of 5, the romance here is centered around childhood friends to lovers. It is unfortunate that the main character Valentina is a less interesting character and her moments of extreme emotion don’t seem to align with her hunti affiliation. Ah well, all the favourites are back from the previous books and it’s nice to see them all again. Some geopolitical movements progress from previous books but it’s starting to feel like too much power is concentrated in the hands of a few “benevolent” people. And ultimately I feel that this series’ main character is Darien, despite having the books all feature female characters.
July 22, 2024
It's readable, but it's not my favorite. I've been a fan of Sharon Shinn forever, so of course when I noticed I hadn't yet read this book, I borrowed it from my library. I'm not sure why I didn't really feel invested in the characters or get into the story. It's okay.
March 13, 2024
Val is a great character. She can come off as rigid, rule-following, and inflexible, but she is at the same time the Hunti traits loyal, steadfast, and stubborn. I liked how we saw both. I also really enjoyed how explicitly she is *not* chosen, over and over. (I mean, I didn't enjoy it so much as I appreciated a main character who is trying so hard to deal with how she feels like nobody really sees her, instead of automatically being the Chosen One.) I also liked the by-play of how having a relationship with her estranged Hunti brother really requires a lot of communication so that they just don't take each other at face value, and how they both have to work at it and unbend a little. He's not uncaring and she's not boring, it just seems that way.
Val has experienced a lot of grief and loss, and really not that many people were actively looking out for her. This comes through really well, and I love the work done in naming and showing her "unsympathetic" traits and making them sympathetic as she comes into focus.
I also unreservedly love this world, and I am so glad that Shinn got to finish out the last book in the set. That said, Troubled Waters will always come first in my heart... perhaps with this one as a close second, as I really identified with what Val went through. (I have been meaning to re-read the others, but who knows when that will happen.)
Perhaps unfortunately, almost none of this excellent character work had much to do with the plot, which was not quite fully baked. And a lot of the views of other nations... why do they all have such cringe-y, bloodthirsty, literally murderous people in power? And this idea of making arranged marriages a possible choice for disadvantaged Welchin women in Soeche-Tas? When everyone thinks that Soechin people are repulsive? (or is it just the upper class?). To me it seems that the idea that this is necessary because there aren't enough Soechin women to marry only makes sense if we track that directly from the one-child policy here on earth, which is ... a different place. Which we hopefully would not stereotype so negatively in a work of total fiction.
I'm glad Shinn is writing and publishing. I hope she makes money off this book. Hence the rating. I did really enjoy it, even as I was more interested in the flashbacks and Val's story than in the political plot. I also liked that Val felt ready to take her life in a new direction at the end, and felt that she had agency. I also think that it was the best character work in these books (though to be fair, princesses are hard to do well!), so I don't feel too bad about nudging the rating up. Worth it for those who have been waiting for it, but definitely not the place to start with these books.
(As a side not I found it interesting, in retrospect, to see how Shinn set up this world from the beginning with so much instability and betrayal at the palace, even as the Welchin people in power seem fundamentally decent now. All those queens and randomly-fathered people. What a mess. I wonder if it was really necessary long-term? Or maybe she wasn't thinking of it that hard. I guess it gave the books a few plots, anyhow.)
Val has experienced a lot of grief and loss, and really not that many people were actively looking out for her. This comes through really well, and I love the work done in naming and showing her "unsympathetic" traits and making them sympathetic as she comes into focus.
I also unreservedly love this world, and I am so glad that Shinn got to finish out the last book in the set. That said, Troubled Waters will always come first in my heart... perhaps with this one as a close second, as I really identified with what Val went through. (I have been meaning to re-read the others, but who knows when that will happen.)
Perhaps unfortunately, almost none of this excellent character work had much to do with the plot, which was not quite fully baked. And a lot of the views of other nations... why do they all have such cringe-y, bloodthirsty, literally murderous people in power? And this idea of making arranged marriages a possible choice for disadvantaged Welchin women in Soeche-Tas? When everyone thinks that Soechin people are repulsive? (or is it just the upper class?). To me it seems that the idea that this is necessary because there aren't enough Soechin women to marry only makes sense if we track that directly from the one-child policy here on earth, which is ... a different place. Which we hopefully would not stereotype so negatively in a work of total fiction.
I'm glad Shinn is writing and publishing. I hope she makes money off this book. Hence the rating. I did really enjoy it, even as I was more interested in the flashbacks and Val's story than in the political plot. I also liked that Val felt ready to take her life in a new direction at the end, and felt that she had agency. I also think that it was the best character work in these books (though to be fair, princesses are hard to do well!), so I don't feel too bad about nudging the rating up. Worth it for those who have been waiting for it, but definitely not the place to start with these books.
(As a side not I found it interesting, in retrospect, to see how Shinn set up this world from the beginning with so much instability and betrayal at the palace, even as the Welchin people in power seem fundamentally decent now. All those queens and randomly-fathered people. What a mess. I wonder if it was really necessary long-term? Or maybe she wasn't thinking of it that hard. I guess it gave the books a few plots, anyhow.)
July 8, 2025
I can’t believe it took me so long to come back to this series. I love this world so much. It’s such a creative magic system, and the characters and stories are fun and interesting. The emotional beats resonate, and while the central romances are compelling, there is always a thread of the political in the Elemental Blessings books. It adds a layer of complexity. The politics ask interesting ethical and moral questions, and they are meant to provoke thought rather than easy answers.
Sharon Shinn writes some of my favorite romances, although this particular one isn’t my favorite. I have loved her writing for decades, and her ability to write flawed, messy people is my favorite. Val is endearing in her implacability. She’s stubborn, hates change, and tends to be inflexible. She likes routine and the familiar, and gets wildly uncomfortable with disruption. She is loyal to a fault. I found her so relatable and familiar that it made me squirm, more than once. Sebastian on the other hand is reckless, driven by adrenaline, and ready for anything at the drop of a hat. He is less developed than Val, but mostly because he doesn’t get his own POV. We only see him through Val’s interactions with him.
Romance isn’t the only point of the story. There are several relational themes going through the book. Among them, Val’s grief and anger, and her attempts to reconcile both her love and frustration with her brother and his choices, as well as her own struggle with identity and purpose. I was caught up in her story from the first page. She goes through a lot of upheaval and a lot of growth, and when she finally snaps it feels cathartic and satisfying.
Some elements of the plot were too convenient, and the end result was obvious, but I didn’t mind. The journey to get there was absorbing. There was some trite dialogue and some clumsy transitions as well. The resolution for Val was a little unsatisfying for me. She changes a bit too much. But again, I mostly didn’t mind. My love for this world and these characters is strong enough to handle some mediocrities.
Sharon Shinn writes some of my favorite romances, although this particular one isn’t my favorite. I have loved her writing for decades, and her ability to write flawed, messy people is my favorite. Val is endearing in her implacability. She’s stubborn, hates change, and tends to be inflexible. She likes routine and the familiar, and gets wildly uncomfortable with disruption. She is loyal to a fault. I found her so relatable and familiar that it made me squirm, more than once. Sebastian on the other hand is reckless, driven by adrenaline, and ready for anything at the drop of a hat. He is less developed than Val, but mostly because he doesn’t get his own POV. We only see him through Val’s interactions with him.
Romance isn’t the only point of the story. There are several relational themes going through the book. Among them, Val’s grief and anger, and her attempts to reconcile both her love and frustration with her brother and his choices, as well as her own struggle with identity and purpose. I was caught up in her story from the first page. She goes through a lot of upheaval and a lot of growth, and when she finally snaps it feels cathartic and satisfying.
Some elements of the plot were too convenient, and the end result was obvious, but I didn’t mind. The journey to get there was absorbing. There was some trite dialogue and some clumsy transitions as well. The resolution for Val was a little unsatisfying for me. She changes a bit too much. But again, I mostly didn’t mind. My love for this world and these characters is strong enough to handle some mediocrities.
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November 24, 2023Darien's final moment in this book is sheer perfection.
January 9, 2024
I loved this book. Valentina was one of my favorite characters. And she had great growth as a person throughout.
Also loved the love interest!
Also loved the love interest!
February 19, 2025
I read this when it first came out and enjoyed it as a part of the Elemental Blessings series by Sharon Shinn. I re-read it recently after losing two family members who were and are very dear to me, and the book hit differently from the perspective of someone grieving. I loved it even more, really appreciating the author's insight and sensitivity to the topic. Hoping for more in this series as I love all the characters in this world.
August 17, 2024
That was surprisingly and disappointingly boring.
January 14, 2024
I love this series so much, this book feels like visiting old friends! Although I was surprised by the lackluster reviews, I do understand some of the issues, especially with uneven pacing and the difficulty of connecting with the main characters, which I believe is by design. This is not a standalone story - I highly recommend reading the series in order.
In the Elemental Blessings magic system, the Hunti are the most enigmatic. Independent, stoic, stubborn and affiliated with trees, they dislike change immensely and can be incredibly hard to read and relate to, in general.
Valentina Serlast is the much younger sister of Darien, now King. Summoned by societal expectation to attend his coronation, Val reluctantly travels to the Welce capitol of Chialto for Darien's coronation. Having recently nursed her mother through a long illness to her death, Val is still grieving and resentful that Darien's political duties left the full burden of her mother's care on her shoulders.
However, once in the city, events conspire to pull Val in a new direction. As she gets to know Darien's wife Zoe and finds an unexpected ally in their firecracker daughter Corene, an old childhood friend resurfaces and their relationship gradually transitions into something deeper.
I loved Val and headstrong fiery Sweela Sebastian Ardelay and how their two contrasting Elemental personalities sparked off of each other and ultimately kindled into a twin flame. The story alternates between their past and present. Both characters can be difficult to like or understand at times as both are very stubborn and set in their ways but they share the blessing of Loyalty and watching them finally figure out what they feel for each other is fascinating. It is a testament to Shinn's wonderful writing that such prickly and occasionally frustrating characters are so compelling. I always love the little grace notes (like the missing coin on Sebastian's blessing necklace) that tie her tales together.
I did find the pacing of the story a little odd as it was a slow start and most of the action happened in the last quarter of the book, but I couldn't put it down! I also would have liked to have seen more of some of the other characters - Leah and Foley both seemed underused in their brief cameos - but it was a joy being back in this world and I hope this isn't the last book in this series!
In the Elemental Blessings magic system, the Hunti are the most enigmatic. Independent, stoic, stubborn and affiliated with trees, they dislike change immensely and can be incredibly hard to read and relate to, in general.
Valentina Serlast is the much younger sister of Darien, now King. Summoned by societal expectation to attend his coronation, Val reluctantly travels to the Welce capitol of Chialto for Darien's coronation. Having recently nursed her mother through a long illness to her death, Val is still grieving and resentful that Darien's political duties left the full burden of her mother's care on her shoulders.
However, once in the city, events conspire to pull Val in a new direction. As she gets to know Darien's wife Zoe and finds an unexpected ally in their firecracker daughter Corene, an old childhood friend resurfaces and their relationship gradually transitions into something deeper.
I loved Val and headstrong fiery Sweela Sebastian Ardelay and how their two contrasting Elemental personalities sparked off of each other and ultimately kindled into a twin flame. The story alternates between their past and present. Both characters can be difficult to like or understand at times as both are very stubborn and set in their ways but they share the blessing of Loyalty and watching them finally figure out what they feel for each other is fascinating. It is a testament to Shinn's wonderful writing that such prickly and occasionally frustrating characters are so compelling. I always love the little grace notes (like the missing coin on Sebastian's blessing necklace) that tie her tales together.
I did find the pacing of the story a little odd as it was a slow start and most of the action happened in the last quarter of the book, but I couldn't put it down! I also would have liked to have seen more of some of the other characters - Leah and Foley both seemed underused in their brief cameos - but it was a joy being back in this world and I hope this isn't the last book in this series!
November 30, 2025
He's not your daddy, sweetheart, he's your brother. And you are twenty-six, not sixteen. Grow up!
Good
1) Strong world-building.
2) Secondary character had their own personalities and voices that were consistent with earlier series entries and they were the best part of the story.
3) Sex positive
Mediocre
1) Storytelling was professional-level and smooth in the story's present-day chapters but but often felt stilted in the flashback chapters.
2) Settings were described well enough to get a solid idea of them but lacked the usual interesting details and rich ambience of this author's work.
3) The plot-driven climax started out quite clever and was a great call back but then became dragged out and the ending was a nonsensical mess.
Bad
1) Female lead was immature, self-involved and boring with a side of serious daddy issues for no reason... which she transferred onto her brother, again, for no reason.
2) Romantic interest was a shallow, feckless petty criminal.
3) Romance-driven storyline lacked... romance. It just came out of the blue with no lead-up or lead-in.
4) Action-driven plot was all over the map, filled with contrivances and the introductory conflict was never resolved.
5) Sub-plot involving Soeche-Tas made no sense. As I said, made no sense.
Not a good story but still an enjoyable visit to Welce to see old friends.
Good
1) Strong world-building.
2) Secondary character had their own personalities and voices that were consistent with earlier series entries and they were the best part of the story.
3) Sex positive
Mediocre
1) Storytelling was professional-level and smooth in the story's present-day chapters but but often felt stilted in the flashback chapters.
2) Settings were described well enough to get a solid idea of them but lacked the usual interesting details and rich ambience of this author's work.
3) The plot-driven climax started out quite clever and was a great call back but then became dragged out and the ending was a nonsensical mess.
Bad
1) Female lead was immature, self-involved and boring with a side of serious daddy issues for no reason... which she transferred onto her brother, again, for no reason.
2) Romantic interest was a shallow, feckless petty criminal.
3) Romance-driven storyline lacked... romance. It just came out of the blue with no lead-up or lead-in.
4) Action-driven plot was all over the map, filled with contrivances and the introductory conflict was never resolved.
5) Sub-plot involving Soeche-Tas made no sense. As I said, made no sense.
Not a good story but still an enjoyable visit to Welce to see old friends.
December 13, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up because I've been a Sharon Shinn fangirl since her 1996 debut Archangel. It's been seven long years since the last novel in the Elemental Blessings series, Unquiet Land, was released. Shinn provides a helpful list of characters in Whispering Wood and the basics of the world she has built for the series, but I still had to go back and review the descriptions of the previous four books in order to fully appreciate the fifth.
Valentina is the newly crowned King Darien's sister, a "hunti" whose blessings include steadfastness, certainty, resolve and determination. She's introverted, organized, and change-averse. But when she agrees to stay in Welce's capital city for a while after the coronation, her life becomes more chaotic as she develops complicated new relationships with Darien's wife and his daughter, as well as other Welce luminaries. She also reunites with her childhood BFF Sebastian, whose wild, adventurous "sweela" personality has led him to an illegal smuggling career.
There's a lot of talking in this book, and not much action, until the final 50 pages. Until then, things happen around Val that could have dramatic effect on the kingdom, but she's usually an observer or unwilling participant. Between the lack of forward momentum and the need to keep checking the character list to remind myself who is related to whom, I enjoyed this book less than most other titles by this author. I suspect that at least part of the problem is that Shinn has self-published her last few books and lacks the editing support that she (or any author) needs. Boo hiss to Ace Books, which released the first four entries in the series but not this fifth and (presumably) final one.
Reading this book felt like seeing old friends from whom you've grown apart - you're happy to see them but it's a little awkward and not quite as satisfying as it used to be.
Valentina is the newly crowned King Darien's sister, a "hunti" whose blessings include steadfastness, certainty, resolve and determination. She's introverted, organized, and change-averse. But when she agrees to stay in Welce's capital city for a while after the coronation, her life becomes more chaotic as she develops complicated new relationships with Darien's wife and his daughter, as well as other Welce luminaries. She also reunites with her childhood BFF Sebastian, whose wild, adventurous "sweela" personality has led him to an illegal smuggling career.
There's a lot of talking in this book, and not much action, until the final 50 pages. Until then, things happen around Val that could have dramatic effect on the kingdom, but she's usually an observer or unwilling participant. Between the lack of forward momentum and the need to keep checking the character list to remind myself who is related to whom, I enjoyed this book less than most other titles by this author. I suspect that at least part of the problem is that Shinn has self-published her last few books and lacks the editing support that she (or any author) needs. Boo hiss to Ace Books, which released the first four entries in the series but not this fifth and (presumably) final one.
Reading this book felt like seeing old friends from whom you've grown apart - you're happy to see them but it's a little awkward and not quite as satisfying as it used to be.
February 13, 2025
This is… not even mediocre. It doesn’t hang together as a story. It doesn’t even meander its way slowly in the way that some fantasies do, because you need convincing character arcs and plot throughlines for that.
This starts poorly and never recovers:
…No, you don’t get to do that. (Where is your editor, redux.) Let’s count some errors here: a shift from present tense to past tense - use of the word “almost” in a way that contradicts its meaning - the inherent contradiction of the words “assume” and “obviously” - a lack of any examples anywhere else of Darien being too flustered to think clearly. The only thing “obvious” here is that the author could not resolve this mistake within the context of this story.
This book features: an oddly modernized setting - a protagonist who is meant to be solitary and not great with people, but whose entire story revolves around interactions (of course) in which she does just fine - the unlikeliest of friends (Val and Corene? Really?) - pacing that goes beyond episodic into boring - conflicts that either don’t make sense or that occur without the protagonist - and a ridiculous conclusion in which the only person who behaves in a consistent way is Corene, who is on the margins of this story .
I have so many questions, starting with why the vaunted blind seer charged so much money for worthless advice, but honestly: I can’t be bothered. This isn’t good enough to make it worth the time.
This starts poorly and never recovers:
Of course, [Darien] says he has two sisters and that his mother is hunti, when (it turns out) he only has one sister and his mother is torz. The only way to explain this discrepancy is to assume that Zoe’s presence left him almost too flustered to think clearly. He didn’t show it, but it was obviously true.
…No, you don’t get to do that. (Where is your editor, redux.) Let’s count some errors here: a shift from present tense to past tense - use of the word “almost” in a way that contradicts its meaning - the inherent contradiction of the words “assume” and “obviously” - a lack of any examples anywhere else of Darien being too flustered to think clearly. The only thing “obvious” here is that the author could not resolve this mistake within the context of this story.
This book features: an oddly modernized setting - a protagonist who is meant to be solitary and not great with people, but whose entire story revolves around interactions (of course) in which she does just fine - the unlikeliest of friends (Val and Corene? Really?) - pacing that goes beyond episodic into boring - conflicts that either don’t make sense or that occur without the protagonist - and a ridiculous conclusion in which the only person who behaves in a consistent way is Corene, who is on the margins of this story .
I have so many questions, starting with why the vaunted blind seer charged so much money for worthless advice, but honestly: I can’t be bothered. This isn’t good enough to make it worth the time.
June 30, 2024
3.5 Stars
In the other books of the series the main characters had been introduced in previous books and I was looking forward to reading more about them. In this book we get a new main character that has barely been mentioned before. In the first couple of chapters I had to be very patient and understanding with her because she was the most unlikeable main character I've ever encountered. She hated mostly everyone, disapproved of mostly everyone and everything and her negative opinions were not based on actual insights into other people's characters and motivations but on hearsay and her own assumptions. And she was initially unwilling to get to know people and revise her opinion. So in the beginning of the book the only reason I kept reading was that I wanted to find out how the characters from the previous books were doing.
Fortunately, Val started interacting with other characters and she did grow on me. I liked her character development and how everything was resolved in the end. But out of all the main characters and love interests in the series Val and Sebastian were my least favourite.
In the other books of the series the main characters had been introduced in previous books and I was looking forward to reading more about them. In this book we get a new main character that has barely been mentioned before. In the first couple of chapters I had to be very patient and understanding with her because she was the most unlikeable main character I've ever encountered. She hated mostly everyone, disapproved of mostly everyone and everything and her negative opinions were not based on actual insights into other people's characters and motivations but on hearsay and her own assumptions. And she was initially unwilling to get to know people and revise her opinion. So in the beginning of the book the only reason I kept reading was that I wanted to find out how the characters from the previous books were doing.
Fortunately, Val started interacting with other characters and she did grow on me. I liked her character development and how everything was resolved in the end. But out of all the main characters and love interests in the series Val and Sebastian were my least favourite.
January 6, 2024
This had pretty severe pacing issues. The first 2/3 of the book, I was wondering what this even was about. Mostly we're wandering about aimlessly, spending time with the protagonists from other books in the series. Our POV character, Valentina, is really not at all interesting in these sections, and her supposed romance bored me to tears (while thinking that this person and Valentina really aren't suited to each other). It's a pretty readable boring story, as it's Shinn, and I do enjoy just being in the worlds she creates, but seriously, this really needed some merciless editing.
Things get a bit more interesting in the last third, when a plot suddenly emerges and Valentina develops a more active personality. I enjoyed that section quite a bit. I warmed to the romance a little bit, while still not being convinced Valentina and this guy suited each other. Maybe the problem was also that I find characters like that (who do illegal things just because it's fun and exciting, and following the law is boring) insufferable.
Not good, but not terrible, either.
Things get a bit more interesting in the last third, when a plot suddenly emerges and Valentina develops a more active personality. I enjoyed that section quite a bit. I warmed to the romance a little bit, while still not being convinced Valentina and this guy suited each other. Maybe the problem was also that I find characters like that (who do illegal things just because it's fun and exciting, and following the law is boring) insufferable.
Not good, but not terrible, either.
July 7, 2024
This was the book in the series I was expecting to like the least but unexpectedly ended up enjoying more than the last! Shinn’s world-building is, as always, impeccable. I loved the additional elements of politics in between countries and the further exploration of characters from previous books. I started the book wholly unconvinced by the character of Valentina (her initial dislike of Zoe definitely didn’t help) but came to appreciate and resonate with her. Shinn knows how to build a character. I also found the romance plot of this book much stronger than the last with the unlikely pairing of Sebastian and Val intriguing and sweet. The reason that the rating isn’t higher is that this book doesn’t have the immersive power that the first three books did. The feeling of being in the world was lost in both this and the last book and is disappointing given that Shinn is capable of it. The plot was predictable at times but I did find myself willing, though not excited, to continue along the journey. A solid addition to the series but lacking the strength of the earlier books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2023
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2023/1...
Shinn's latest is a return to the Elemental Blessings series, so I was super psyched for it! And I mostly liked it a lot—the main character is the new king's sister, come to the city for the coronation and persuaded to stay even though she’s grumpy about it. And she was great, and I loved her gradually opening up and getting caught up in the politics. But the whole time I was like, maybe this is the first book in the series that won’t have a romance, bc the love interest is her childhood friend, and I would have liked to see a book about friends! (I was also not into him as a love interest at all until the very end.) I wonder if this is the end of the series, bc there’s now been a book for each of the major elemental categories, but there’s also definitely room for more (I secretly hope for lesbians in the next one—there are several queer women side characters). B+.
Shinn's latest is a return to the Elemental Blessings series, so I was super psyched for it! And I mostly liked it a lot—the main character is the new king's sister, come to the city for the coronation and persuaded to stay even though she’s grumpy about it. And she was great, and I loved her gradually opening up and getting caught up in the politics. But the whole time I was like, maybe this is the first book in the series that won’t have a romance, bc the love interest is her childhood friend, and I would have liked to see a book about friends! (I was also not into him as a love interest at all until the very end.) I wonder if this is the end of the series, bc there’s now been a book for each of the major elemental categories, but there’s also definitely room for more (I secretly hope for lesbians in the next one—there are several queer women side characters). B+.
March 27, 2025
Ah yes, the final book in "What if the elements determined your flavor of neurodivergence?" series. This time, it's autism I mean wood.
Not that I don't still remember my frustration with Odelia from last time, but like, the main message of this book was, well, the GEmara? A person should be supple like a reed and not break like a cedar?
It feels like Shinn really knew what she was doing with Coru and Sweela and didn't entirely know how to let the other characters grow into more of their elements rather than less of them. Also, while I do usually find Autism/ADHD to be a good pairing, Valentina and Sebastian never really worked for me as characters who were narratively assigned to be in love.
I like Shinn but this series is sometimes a cautionary tale in planning a fivefold book when you only really know what you want to do with some of them. (Good job, Bujold, on pivoting back to the Fifth God when she realized that was where her interest was.
Not that I don't still remember my frustration with Odelia from last time, but like, the main message of this book was, well, the GEmara? A person should be supple like a reed and not break like a cedar?
It feels like Shinn really knew what she was doing with Coru and Sweela and didn't entirely know how to let the other characters grow into more of their elements rather than less of them. Also, while I do usually find Autism/ADHD to be a good pairing, Valentina and Sebastian never really worked for me as characters who were narratively assigned to be in love.
I like Shinn but this series is sometimes a cautionary tale in planning a fivefold book when you only really know what you want to do with some of them. (Good job, Bujold, on pivoting back to the Fifth God when she realized that was where her interest was.
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