The Crimson Skew (Mapmakers Trilogy, #3)

by S. E. Grove

[nightingalereads]

3.5 stars

There were certain aspects about this series that I loved and some that I didn't. In the last two books, we get a lot more expansion of the world and magic system, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The world S.E. Grove created is truly fascinating. However, the focus on the mechanics of the world sometimes crowded out other important aspects of the story, such as character development. This is where I was let down. I am a character-driven reader at heart. My favorite part of reading is delving inside the minds' of the characters and seeing how they interact with one another. I love to watch how relationships evolve over time, and the two main protagonists, Sophia and Theo, had such a great dynamic in the first book. I was excited to see how it would progress in the later installments; I was imagining them going off on adventures together, exploring the rest of the ages and growing in their friendship. So I was terribly disappointed when I realized that they spent a majority of the other books apart, almost with separate story arcs. I missed all the character interactions from the first book, which I feel got pushed aside for the sake of world development. I still enjoyed the story, but my excitement for it dimmed once I realized that my two favorite characters barely shared one meaningful conversation after the end of book one. In order for me to care about the story itself, I need to actually see the characters develop and interact with each other. Otherwise, their relationships will just sit stagnant and undeveloped. For instance, Sophia's trust in Theo was tried multiple times in The Glass Sentence, which progressed both of their character arcs. There were few, if any, examples of this in the later books. We barely get any substantial scenes with the other prominent characters from TGS either, like Mrs. Clay, Shadrack, and the pirates. Even characters that are introduced later on in the trilogy - who I liked! - get left by the wayside without any real resolution. I can't care about characters if they're never fleshed out, or if their only purpose is to serve the plot. I need character reveals as well as plot reveals.

If characters are not your primary concern, then you may not find this bothersome. I just personally wish there had been a better balance of world-building and character development.