4/5 stars
Synopsis
Warning! This section contains spoilers, if you would like to avoid these spoilers, jump to the review below.
The book started off with Finlay arriving at the castle and starting his position as head cook. Fin kicked the cooks out of the kitchen and started cleaning and cooking, using magic to speed things along.
An intruder broke into Fin’s kitchen that night and pulled a knife on him. Fin used some magic and the person ran away. Fin discovered a kitten who ended up being his familiar.
Fin protected one of the people who worked for him, and earned the attention of the king. The king told Fin he knew Fin was a witch, and wanted some questions answered.
Fin then prepared a dinner for the castle and some visiting people from a nearby country. At the dinner, there was some talk about war with the country the visitors were from.
Fin started to gain an attraction to one of the ladies at the castle.
Fin had the ability to “sense” people in rooms he’d been in. He sensed that someone was in trouble, and raced to the pregnant queen’s room. The queen was struggling when Fin checked on her. But because of Fin’s quick response, the queen’s baby was still alive.
Fin attended a festival for the appreciation of the castle staff. At the celebration, Fin and the woman he liked and some knights were challenged to a drinking contest. Fin got into an argument with the soldiers’ captain, and had to spar with the captain.
A drunkard in the city was suddenly cut off from the taverns, and was furious. She revealed she was a water witch, and started attacking the city with her powers. Fin and the castle mage (who hated him) were tasked by the king to stop her. Fin’s powers were revealed to some of the king’s council, and they wanted to talk to him about the powers and about his abusive father (who was going to be spearheading the enemy’s invasion).
Three suitors entered the castle for the woman Fin liked. The woman got hurt soon after, and he helped her. They started talking, then kissed.
Fin’s mother showed up at the castle, and she immediately could tell there was something going on between Fin and the woman.
Fin had a fight with an old friend because of the woman. After the fight, Fin got really drunk. The kitchen assistants were panicking, wondering how they would be able to feed everyone in the castle without Fin’s help.
Fin snuck into a masquerade ball to express his feelings for the woman he liked.
Review
I had to reread this book. Not because it was amazing, but because I was originally under the impression that it was a standalone book. Because of that impression, I was thoroughly annoyed with it because there were too many unresolved issues. After finishing the book, I discovered that there are other books, and knew I would have to reread it in order to write a better review.
This book was good. I liked how there were multiple plot threads that all worked together to advance the story. It wasn’t a simple story, and I felt like it had depth. There was some humor to it. However, there were some things that I didn’t like.
Things moved too fast in the beginning. I was not able to get a good feel of what Fin was like other than brusque. Throughout the story, I had a hard time understanding who Fin was. Because of his attitude and behavior, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what he was like. Towards the end of the book though, I felt like I was starting to get to know him more. I just wish it happened sooner.
The book had a point of view shift to Fin’s familiar, Kraken. Kraken was using stray cats as his own informant group, and they demanded food as payment in exchange for information. So Kraken would steal food from the kitchen. Earlier in the book Fin was talking about how bizarre it was that Kraken stole whole loaves of bread. I liked how it tied the POV shift to Kraken with Fin’s complaint of the cat stealing food. I didn’t catch it in my first read through, but I did notice it with my second. It was very subtle. Although it may have been too subtle to be effective foreshadowing.
The hesitation that Fin has in regards to pursuing a relationship with Annika was well done. It provided tension in the story and between the characters. I found myself invested in the characters and their relationship. I did feel like the romantic tension between Fin and Annika overshadowed the other issues the kingdom faced. The brewing war didn’t really feel like that much of an issue because of the emphasis on the romantic tension. In my opinion, it would have been better if the author put just as much importance on the budding conflict as they did on the romantic conflict.
One thing confused me at the beginning. Why did Annika drop the kitten (Kraken) off at the kitchen? Fin woke up to a masked person breaking in. The person threw a knife at him then ran away. He found Kraken after the person ran away and reasoned the figure had dropped Kraken off. He later discovered the person had been Annika. I don’t understand why Annika dropped the kitten off. In the middle of the night. I don’t understand why she threw a knife at Fin. The book was not clear about any of it. It did mention that Annika found Kraken after his siblings had been drowned, but that still didn’t explain why she thought to drop the kitten off at the kitchen. And in the middle of the night. I wish the book provided an explanation for that behavior. It would have made more sense for Fin to stumble upon the kitten himself. Or for Annika or a servant to drop the kitten off during the day and ask if Fin was okay taking care of it. That whole scene just really confused me.
Overall, the story was well done.
Fireheart Books 