When the royal bastard Fitz is adopted into the royal household, he must embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly.
What I liked
✅ excellent, descriptive writing
✅ moments of emotional heartbreak; THE DOGS
✅ page-turning action scenes with the mysteries of court intrigue
✅ great coming-of-age story where there are real consequences for bad decisions
✅ some great world-building, ALTHOUGH...
✅ some stand-out characters...
What I didn't like
✖ ...mixed with some really "meh" characters
✖ vague and incomplete magic system
✖ slow at times (although I didn't mind), especially at the start
✖ first person POV and Fitz's age stops the narrative from delving emotionally into the older character's personal journeys
Rating 4/5 🌟
Genre: fantasy
Verdict: RECOMMENDED