The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)

by Brian Staveley

[ayla_abbott]

Great is the book that features three young adults that don't bitch and moan and rebel and have angst all over the pages.

The three protagonists knuckle down and train and make rough choices and in all cases believe that their teachers want the best for them even if it's (very) painful at the time. All of them struggle with their emotions but all three of them are capable of control in a way that a lot of young protagonists aren't written to be. It's not a YA book so we don't need to hash out the emotions, just experience them and grow.

Took me half the book to realize that's why I wasn't bored with the long buildup comprised mostly of just training.

And in the end I'm genuinely interested in all three of them now that they've passed their tests.