Sagra! What can I say?Melina Marchetta certainly didn't let me down with the sequel of The Lumatere Chronicles. It was good to see the previous characters again and see what their lives are like three years after Finnking of the Rock. And while I loved the older characters and having their point of view, I loved the new characters too. They had a great sense of humor - very sarcastic like me lol and I loved their extremely complex relationship with each other. And while I was waiting for a touching reunion scene where the characters (namely Gargarin, Arjuro, Lirah and Froi) shared their feelings with each other, I'm glad they didn't because none of them will stick to their character if they used their words perfectly. I was actually waiting for this with Beatriss and Trevanion too, and it feels like I've been waiting 13 years myself for them to get back together. What will it take for you two perfect beings to be happy again??Froi's development as a character also surprised me a lot because I never knew I would grow to like him so much when he was introduced as a thief and almost-raper from Sarnak. I grew so sympathetic of him because he just wants a place to belong, and as much as he loves Isoboe and Lumatere, he feels the excitement of Charyn and his family here. If there's one reason to read this book besides the well-developed characters, it's for the plot. Oh geez, Marchetta gives so many hints and back-stories that resurfaces later and everything just fits like a puzzle! This is literally me throughout a lot of the book. Everything just made senseMy advice? Write down page numbers when information (any information) about a character is revealed. I kept flipping back to previous pages to reread when I found certain facts about someone, and the plot is that intricate that it definitely helps. I was in the middle reading the novel, and when there was a big reveal, I knew I already wanted to reread it again to understand all the foreshadowing because Marchetta is a literary genius. Okay, one last thing! The writing is incredible. Marchetta manages to write to pull at the heart strings between how she characterizes and how she reveals the story. For example... “I don't despise you for what you allowed to happen to me. I despise you because when I was released, you refused to be found and I needed you more than anything in my life. Not to mend my broken bones, Arjuro. I needed my brother to mend my broken spirit.” Do you see why I need a bonding moment between these two?
