Froi of the Exiles

Book Title: Froi of the Exiles

Author: Melina Marchetta

Series: The Lumatere Chronicles #2

Date Started: March 13th 2019

Date Completed: March 27th 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I didn't enjoy Froi of the Exiles as much as I enjoyed the previous book, but it was still a story I flew through and didn't want to end. I think for me it was a little more contained and based around court politics than Finnikin of the Rock, which was a lot more of a fantasy adventure. More Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings this time, I suppose.

It's not often that I marathon books in a series one after the other. I think it can sometimes make it slower since you don't get to breathe between stories, but it actually works nicely here. There are slight gaps of time between each novel but they very much build on the situation of the last episode, following how the politics and situation has developed but gently bridging the space of relationships and character arcs.

Froi of the Exiles didn't have second book syndrome, which is a pet hate of mine in trilogies. I'm going to put that down to Marchetta treating each book as its own story rather than a chapter in a trilogy (as it should be). Although Froi didn't wrap up its story in quite as satisfyingly as Finnikin did, the arc of the story completed what it initially established enough that it wasn't a waste to read - a middle part to tide over time before the big finale. Which means that I'm now even more excited for that big finale which must be coming in the next book.

When I have characters I'm already attached to in a series, I find it quite hard to care as much about the new ones. So, even though we're following Froi and his story, I have to admit I spent most of the book waiting for Finnikin or Isaboe's chapters. In all fairness, I definitely don't dislike Froi as I used to, but it was still a shame I wasn't as engaged in him as a protagonist. That being said, even if I'm not in love with all the characters, I can still keep track of what is an enormous cast set in a high stakes political world without getting confused.

As I've said, Froi was a little disappointing just personally after reading Finnikin, but I'm going to start right away on Quintana of Charyn anyway. The end is near, and I think it's going to be quite the read.