The Councillor - Review
Link to the author's (E. J. Beaton) personal website
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Type: Book
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (25)
- Length (5 / 10)
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: When the death of Iron Queen Sarelin Brey fractures the realm of Elira, Lysande Prior, the palace scholar and the queen’s closest friend, is appointed Councillor. Publically, Lysande must choose the next monarch from amongst the city-rulers vying for the throne. Privately, she seeks to discover which ruler murdered the queen, suspecting the use of magic.
Resourceful, analytical, and quiet, Lysande appears to embody the motto she was raised with: everything in its place. Yet while she hides her drug addiction from her new associates, she cannot hide her growing interest in power. She becomes locked in a game of strategy with the city-rulers – especially the erudite prince Luca Fontaine, who seems to shift between ally and rival.
Further from home, an old enemy is stirring: the magic-wielding White Queen is on the move again, and her alliance with a traitor among the royal milieu poses a danger not just to the peace of the realm, but to the survival of everything that Lysande cares about.
Review: I started this book angry. Not at the book, but rather at the disastrous hotel management of a certain airline. I then proceeded to read a lot of the book while drunk. I then finished it while even angrier as I experienced the fiasco of yet another flight cancellation. What I am trying to get across: I don't think my review here is completely fair as I I am incapable of 100% separating the hell-fire fuelled hatred of the moment and the book I was reading.
I found this book fine? The first few pages start extremely strong, but the writing style quickly did not work for me. It was non-standard in a way that didn't click and I'm not exactly sure what made it so. The premise was also extremely promising, but I found the story quickly devolving into something that was just following the bog-standard beat. I felt that the "who is the spy?" plot was heavily dragged out despite the nice reveal. Too many characters were introduced at the same time, some with multiple titles, and this was a big headache at the beginning. I felt that all small details of managing a city and group of states were swept under the rug and that too much time was spent on plot points I'd like to have explored but were never built on. It was not an unenjoyable read though as I did end up finishing it. I would still maybe suggest giving this a try if the blurb appeals to you, or you'd like to support an Australian (only realised this in the acknowledgements at the end), but I cannot put it as a general recommend.