I write this review with a heavy heart. I know how much many of my Cannonball Read peeps loved this book/series and I waited a long time to get it from the library, with eager anticipation. I really really wanted to love it too, and I just didn’t. This story was filled with unique and interesting characters, the book was infused with great humor, and Muir has created an amazing world, but it’s just not my vibe. My hero Amy Poehler taught me the phrase, “Good for her, not for me” and I think this series is just not for me.
Gideon is a capable swordswoman, hellbent on escaping the servitude she has been under in the house of the ninth since orphaned as a child but seems destined to fail as all of her escapes are always thwarted. When given (or really, voluntold into) the opportunity to serve as the cavalier to the Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter and Necromancer of her house, she’s prepared to grin and bare it if it’ll give her the freedom she so desperately wants.
I first tried the book in written format but found myself re-reading sentences, then paragraphs, over and over, and it just wouldn’t stick. I couldn’t get into it. I saw that another CBR-er said a similar thing and she switched to audio and liked it, so I gave that a go. The audio narration was great and the voice actress was compelling but I found getting through this book to be a slow climb, and I was always hesitant to pick it back up. Science fiction and fantasy for me can be hit or miss and for me, this one unfortunately was a miss.
On a positive note, I leant my library copy to my husband and he read it; he reads only a few books a year, so it was neat to have that shared experience and to discuss what we thought about it, both agreeing that we loved Gideon the most, and didn’t love the ending.
