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ACSDAL chapters 13 & 14

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Chapter 13

“The midday meal will be served in a few hours. Can I trust that you will not climb down the trellis in that time?” My joints are already stiffening to a point where walking hurts. I won’t be climbing down the trellis anytime soon. I take the key from his hand. “I won’t need to.”

Didn’t she break the trellis anyway? Or did the magic fix it, so it doesn’t even matter? There is a heavy implication that it would have been fixed. But the fact that the author can’t be bothered to establish this rubs me the wrong way. It would have taken five seconds to write in a line. “And don’t even think about breaking the trellis again, Harper! I’m warning you!” << Actual confirmation that it was repaired.

The first hint of anger slides into his voice—but it’s backed by resignation. “The blood you saw was mine.”

Chapter 13 summary: The three of them return to the castle in the morning, as planned. Harper doesn’t really want to go, but she now understands that she’s not going to find help outside of the castle grounds. Back in the castle, Rhen asks that she return to her room for the time being, and begs her to not climb out the window again. She’s still in pain from the last attempt, so she doesn’t think of it. The room is literally magically clean and tidy; Rhen says that it does that every morning. It doesn’t matter what you do to the room, it’ll reset itself. She mopes in the bath for a while, tries to get some rest, and then decides that she’s going to go explore. She wanders around the empty rooms for a bit, before she comes to a room that’s covered with so much blood. She screams, and then Rhen is there. He clearly came running in the middle of shaving, and that startles Harper some. He takes her down to the kitchens, where he tries to get her to drink something to calm down. But she keeps demanding to know whose blood that it is. Eventually, he tells her that it’s his blood.

Chapter 14

“I made a mistake.” I take a longer sip of wine. I’m already feeling the effects of the first glass. “One of many, in fact.” She leans against the table and studies me. “What kind of mistake?” I hesitate. Weigh my words. Take another, longer drink. “I enjoyed the company of the wrong woman.” “And what? She tore you apart?” “Yes.” Her question was flippant and she clearly did not expect that answer.

Kind of feel like Harper missed the part about the curse. Like is she simply stupid, or did she think that it wouldn’t matter because she’d be gone?

“She was not solely seeking revenge. She truly did want to align herself with the royal family. She is quite powerful—but her magic only extends so far. To me, to Grey, to the territory of Ironrose. She cannot cast her web over my entire kingdom. She seeks true power. For that she needed me.” “And you turned her away.” “I did.” I say nothing more, and after a moment, Harper’s eyes light with understanding. “You turned her away after spending the night with her.” “Yes.” “Probably after promising her the world on a string.” “I promised nothing.” I hesitate. “Though I allowed her to believe our night meant more than it did.”

I think I prefer my Beast to be a self-absorbed brat, not a manwhore. Of course she’s angry, bro.

“So she cursed you to perform a task.” Her tone is musing. “Why won’t you tell me what it is?” “I have found that revealing the nature of the task is the quickest way to assure failure.” “Why? What am I supposed to do?” she says, her expression piercing. “Fall in love with you?” I almost drop the glass.

Honestly, he should be more surprised that more women hadn’t figured it out. It’s the oldest fucking story in the book. In fact, I think the story of Beauty and the Beast— in its many, many forms— is kind of tied with the story of Cinderella— also in its various forms— for being one of the oldest stories.

“So I could kill you and get to go home?” “I have no way of knowing for sure. The seasons begin again. The girls are gone.” She’s studying me. Imagining my death. Plotting it, probably. Wondering if it’s worth the risk. I shrug and take a sip of wine. “Any other season and I would hand you a weapon and invite you to try.” “What’s different this time?” “This is my final season,” I say quietly. “My final chance. If you were to kill me, I would truly die.” I lift my eyes to find hers. “I have no idea what would happen to you.”

I don’t know. If I was Harper, I’d take my chances.

“Her name is Lilith.” “So she can send me home.” “No, my lady.” “Maybe I should ask her. How do I find her?” My eyes flick at the corners, as if this conversation could summon the enchantress. “You do not want to find her.” “But—” “Do you not understand that she was the cause of the damage you found on the third floor?”

He does realise that the curse is because he used and discarded Lilith like a tissue… right? If killing Rhen isn’t on the table currently, I’d still want to befriend Lilith. She seems like a useful ally to have. Of course, knowing how these books usually are, Lilith is going to turn into a raging bitch and try to stop Harper at every step of the way.

Her words are not a surprise. I sigh. “You won’t be the first.”

Chapter 14 summary: When they get to the kitchen, Rhen has to stop to explain to us that it’s full of magically produced food. He also tells the readers that he used to love coming down here when he was a boy, and even at the start of the curse. Now, everything about this place is too empty, too silent. He tells Harper about how in the time of his grandfather’s rule, there were these magesmiths. He allowed them, under the condition that their spells be heavily taxed. But one of them tried and succeeded to seduce Rhen’s father. Grandpa didn’t like that, and ordered all of the magesmiths to be rounded up and killed. Enter Lilith, the sole survivor from that. She took all of the power from her dead brethren, and became unimaginably powerful. And angry to boot. She showed up on Rhen’s 18th birthday. He took her to bed, not making her any promises, but hinting that their relationship might be more than simply a one night stand. Rhen goes on to say that it doesn’t matter what happens to him; he always wakes up on the first of the season, in that room. But warns that Harper shouldn’t try to leave that way, since it’s his last season; he doesn’t know what might happen to her. At this point, Harper demands to know what condition Rhen’s curse is. He tries to downplay it and change the topic, but Harper isn’t THAT stupid. She brings up the other women who came before, and asks what became of them. Rhen explains that at first, he tried to woo women from neighbouring kingdoms. However, they knew of his reputation, and weren’t interested. Then he set his sights internally, and tried to woo a local girl. He still seems shaken up from having accidentally killed her. After that, it was nothing but women from DC. Specifically DC, which is kind of weird. Whole ass world out there, and you’re only hunting around bars in the DC area? Sure. Rhen also warns Harper away from finding Lilith. She asks if there’s “any more surprises”, but he says no. She insists on staying in the kitchen, before she declares that she’s not going to fall in love with him.

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ACSDAL chapters 11 & 12

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Chapter 11

I dig the phone out of my pocket to check the time: 4:02 a.m.

Which is inherently meaningless, since you crossed through a portal into god-knows-where. Is that local time, or DC time? Seeing as how there’s not even service, I doubt that time would have updated on its own.

“Your own leaders are on your currency.” Grey gestures for the card I hold, then deftly shuffles it into the deck. “Is this so different?”

Yeah, leaders who have been dead for centuries.

“If the curse goes unbroken, you will return home when the season ends. Not before.”

What happened to the other girls? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER GIRLS?!

“If the people were to discover their rulers are dead, the problems could be far-reaching. Revolt. Civil war. The kingdom could be attacked, and we have no army with which to fight.”

Maybe I’m missing something here, but like… What does it even matter? They’re still trapped in a curse, regardless of what they do to Rhen. Would killing Rhen break the curse?

“Have you not figured it out yet? The curse torments us all.”

Calm down there, edgelord.

“Have you not figured it out yet? The curse torments us all.”

Chapter 11 summary: Harper refuses to take the free room at the inn, and refuses to kick the innkeeper and his wife out from their room. So she curls up in front of the fire downstairs. She later wakes to Grey tending the fire. He insists that he was standing guard in case the men that they’d chased off earlier come looking for them to finish the job. He pulls out a deck of cards, but it’s unlike any deck Harper has seen before. She looks through them, and IDK why anybody is surprised that Rhen is the “prince of hearts”. Grey tries to liken it to US currency, but like… George Washington has been dead since 1799. It’s not an apt comparison. Anyway, they start to play a game. And maybe it’s supposed to be a metaphor for the story, I don’t really care that much. As they play, Harper tries to get info from Grey. He talks about all of the women that he’s kidnapped over the years, and eventually admits that some of them have died. But he refuses to say what the end goal that Rhen must achieve in order to break the curse. He also says that they’re perpetually stuck in autumn. That it goes back to being autumn when the curse resets itself. And that it’s Rhen’s 18th birthday on the first day of the curse. Or 18-adjacent, I suppose. (How long have you been 18?) Grey is 20, if anybody was wondering. Grey also talks about the monster, but says that it’s different every time. He goes on to say that Rhen has hidden the knowledge of the death of his parents to prevent the random citizens from flipping out. Although I’m not quite sure what good that it’s doing. Not when they’re cut off, and are slowly starving to death thanks to the curse. Harper asks if Rhen is the only one who’s cursed. To which Grey replies that everybody is cursed.

Chapter 12

“My lord, I did nothing. I sat down and asked.”

Chapter 12 summary: Rhen lies in bed and mopes about everything that’s going on. As you can imagine, he’s overcome with a lot of guilt that he’s the root cause of why all of his citizens are currently suffering. He eventually goes downstairs, where he chides Grey for playing cards when he could be seeing if the horses are okay. As soon as Grey is gone, Harper throws her cards back into the pile and seems upset over Rhen being there. When Grey comes back— with assurances that the horses are fine— Harper asks if Rhen is done being in bed. She then gets up and goes to sleep in the bed for the rest of the night, what little that it might be. As soon as she goes upstairs, Rhen asks how it is that Grey got Harper to play cards with him. Rhen complains that Harper has been fighting him every step of the way. And mind you, in the previous chapter, Harper told the readers she’d only been there for about 24 hours. Grey pointedly tells Rhen that he simply produced the cards and asked Harper if she wanted to play.

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ACSDAL chapters 9 & 10

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Chapter 9

“Who do you think you are?” she says. “You’ve got a huge castle with a hundred rooms. You can’t give them a few to use?” My eyebrows go up. “Ah, so you run from the castle, but you’d submit another woman to your fate?” “You’d rather leave them to freeze in the snow? Some prince you are.”

Buddy, this is why you were cursed.

“Ironrose—the castle and its grounds—is cursed to repeat the same season, over and over, until I …” I search for the right words. I am rarely forthright about the curse. “Until I complete a task. Time outside the castle grounds passes more slowly, but it does pass.”

That does explain a few things. Mainly why 75-300 years haven’t actually passed for them.

It’s not until later, when we reach the inn, that I realize she never let go of me, despite her sharp words.

Chapter 9 summary: Rhen stands before the aftermath of the battle, wondering what the fresh hell is wrong with Harper. Eventually, he realises that there are children and a baby there. Upon realising who the man who saved her is, the woman falls to her knees. She begs for Harper to do the same, but then realises her mistake when Rhen calls Harper “My lady”. At this point, Harper snaps at Rhen that he needs to do something to help these people who were already poor, and now have literally nothing. That he either needs to put them up at the nearby inn, or that he needs to give him a room in his castle. Before he goes, Rhen asks the mother, Freya, what happened. Who those men were. Freya says that they were claiming to be his men, who wanted her family lands for the prince’s own use. Rhen says he doesn’t know who those men are, but admits to Harper that he would have done something like that a long time ago. That it’s little wonder people are acting like this. He and Harper get up onto the horse Harper stole, actually named Ironwill, and go on ahead to arrange for rooms at the nearby inn. Grey is to bring the family on foot, to protect them. As they ride, Rhen says a little about the timing of his curse, and how it’s impacting the entire kingdom, and not simply his castle. Which explains why it’s spring in the castle, but winter outside of the grounds. He also says that there’s only a one hour period once a season where Grey can leave the bubble of the curse, which he obviously uses to find girls for Rhen to try and woo. He then asks Harper about her limp, insisting that she’s injured. She explains to him about her cerebral palsy, about how the cord was wrapped around her neck when she was born. That she had surgery on her leg, but she’ll never walk properly because of her condition. She says that it’s much worse for others, who can’t even walk at all. As they’re riding, it’s really cold. He encourages her to get closer for warmth, and she eventually does.

Chapter 10

He pulls back, meeting my gaze, but his voice doesn’t change. “That monster killed them all.”

Chapter 10 summary: When they get to the inn, the innkeeper is afraid of visitors after dark. It’s only when Harper tries to get Rhen to leave the poor family alone, accidentally letting it slip that he’s the prince, that the man suddenly changes his attitude. Suddenly, their honoured guests, and the family will sleep in the stables. While Rhen makes arrangements for the woman and her kids, Harper finds herself alone with the innkeeper’s wife. She thinks that Harper is a princess from the far-off kingdom of Disi (aka Washington DC), and that Harper’s family is in negotiations with Rhen’s family for the two of them to marry. Harper feels awkward about the entire thing, and doesn’t know how to correct her. Grey shows up with Freya and the children, and they all take some time getting them settled. Once that’s done, the innkeeper comes out with food for Grey, Rhen, and Harper. As they eat, Harper tells Rhen about what the wife thought, and wants for Rhen to set the record straight. But Rhen is of the opinion that trying to correct them will only make them double down on their beliefs. Rhen then beckons the innkeeper’s son over, gives him a coin for having tended to Ironwill, and asks what rumours about the royal family he’d been talking about earlier. The boy is clearly upset, and his father takes over. He says that the rumours are that the monster that’s been ravishing the lands made the royal family basically pack up and leave. Rhen kind of scoffs over the entire thing, and turns to go upstairs to bed for the night. As he goes, Harper asks him what that was about. He scoffs again when she asks about his parents. He tells her that his parents and family are dead; that they were killed by the monster.

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ACSDAL chapters 7 & 8

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Chapter 7

“She’s impulsive, but I believe she would fight to the death if cornered. If there was something she wanted.” That is interesting. Considering that she wants nothing more than to go home, it’s also disheartening.

They literally kidnapped a girl and are holding her prisoner on the island. And they’re surprised that she’d do anything to get away?

“So you limit your final season to what … six weeks? Eight?”

Not me knowing that this is a trilogy. HA!

“I will dress for dinner. Let us play this game one last time.”

Chapter 7 summary: Rhen wakes up some time later, his skin feeling like its on fire, but he can’t find any physical marks on his body. He tells the readers that “magical pain lasts longer than physical”. Grey comes in, and tells him about the exchange he’d had with Harper. They’re convinced that Harper would do anything in order to get away from this, which is like… Do you blame her? I would, too. Rhen goes on to beg that Grey kill him at the changing of the season, when he transforms into a monster. He seems to be under the idea that this is going to be his last season. Grey pointedly reminds his master that it’s Rhen’s curse, and Rhen’s responsibility to break it. That it’s been Rhen’s goal all along to find somebody to fall in love with him, even though he’s a monster. Rhen doesn’t seem to give a shit, which is going back to what I’ve been saying since the introduction of his character: you’re the problem here, buddy.

Chapter 8

The map doesn’t look like the United States, that’s for sure.

Earlier, she’d said that it had been winter in DC (where she’d been), and coming to the island was a huge temperature shock. Like no shit that this isn’t Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

Instead, I say the only thing my addled mind can come up with. “Thanks.”

Chapter 8 summary: Meanwhile, as you can imagine, Harper isn’t exactly keen to sit in the room she’d been locked into. She climbs out the window, falls, but a trellis breaks her fall, so she’s more or less okay after a minute. She then saddles up “Will” again, and urges him on. She gets to a certain point, and the weather turns from balmy spring evening to frigid snowstorm instantaneously. She goes back, and the snow stops. But she realises that she can’t simply let some snow stop her from leaving, so she presses on. It’s so cold though, and she didn’t exactly pack a lot of winter gear. As she rides and finds nobody, she worries that she’s going to die of exposure. After a bit, she comes across a house that’s on fire, a bunch of children and their parents out in the snow, watching all of this. There’s some��??? Guards? Bandits? Who fucking knows. Who are terrorising the family, and threatening to do unspeakable things to the little girls there. Harper finds that she can’t simply stand by and watch this unfold, so she urges Will to go run the bad guy down. Although she knocks him down, she also ends up being knocked off the horse as well. The mother takes action to protect Harper, although Harper encourages the family to get away while they still can. Harper herself is not up to the task of fleeing quickly, and is forced to stand her ground against the creep. Then, because this is a scene pretty much ripped directly from Disney’s version (only with human monsters instead of wolves), Rhen and Grey show up. They chase off some of the bad guys, and kill the others who are too stupid to go.

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ACSDAL chapters 5 & 6

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Chapter 5

I’m impressed that she found a weapon—and more so that she went for the stables as a means of escape. Most of the girls Grey drags from her world won’t touch a blade or a bridle, and instead gravitate to the finery found within the lushly outfitted wardrobes inside Ironrose Castle.

She’s not like other girls, u gais!! I’m deadass when I say that this book feels like the author went down a fucking checklist. We’re literally in chapter 5, and the only unique thing the author has brought to the table has been Harper’s cerebral palsy.

“Harper.” Ah. Of course. No Annabeth or Isabella for this one. A name with edges.

I can’t with this. Because what the fuck is this even supposed to mean? Now the author is throwing girls named Annabeth under the fucking bus. ANNABETH CHASE DOES NOT DESERVE THIS.

She ignores that and glances away, her eyes finding Grey. “And him?” “Grey of Wildthorne Valley,” I say. “Commander of the Royal Guard.” Grey gives her a nod. “My lady.”

You want to know what I want to see? Forget Rhen, give me the Grey romance!

I remember a time when my people feared the day I would come to lead— because I was seen as spoiled and selfish and not half the man my father was. Now I am spoiled and selfish in another way, and no better fit to rule.

I love how he openly admits that he’s been cursed for 300+ years, and hasn’t learnt a goddamned thing from any of it.

“It is only music,” I tell her. “I admit, I once found it wondrous as well.” Now I hate all of it. […] “You can throw them into the hearth. Beat them into splinters. Nothing stops the music. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Her eyebrows go up. “You’ve thrown musical instruments … into the fireplace?” “I have.” In truth, I’ve burned the entire castle to the ground. More than once. The music continues to play from the ash and rubble.

To be fair, that does sound annoying. And once you’ve established that nothing you do to them matters… Then I think that I would probably take my frustration out on the trumpets from time to time.

I will fail again.

I would normally say something along the lines of “of course you will with that stank attitude”. But honestly? Of course he’s failing. As Horace the dead horse keeps mentioning, he’s tried to woo a woman every year for the past 300+ years… And not one of them has stuck. At this point, the problem is him, and his inability to learn a single, fucking thing from any of it. (And my god, Horace should not be trotting out in fucking chapter 5.)

“I have played your game for well over three hundred seasons.” […] “For five years, your kingdom has been falling into poverty. Your people live in terror of the fierce creature that steals lives with horrifying regularity. And yet you abuse a chance to save them all?” Five years. Somehow both longer and shorter than I thought—not that I have any means to track the intricacies of her magic. I knew time had passed outside the grounds of Ironrose. I knew my people were suffering. I hadn’t realized how much.

Even if you take the word “season” at face value and only have it mean literally a three month period… None of that adds up to 5 years. 300 seasons is 75 years. Hurry up and explain to us how long that he’s been trapped here, kthxbai.

“You, Rhen. You alone will destroy them all.”

Chapter 5 summary: As the three of them walk back to the castle, Rhen does an awful lot of “she’s not like other girls” in regards to Harper. He finally asks for her name, and then tells her his own, as well as Grey’s. As Grey opens the door for them, Rhen talks some about the enchanted instruments. About how the music keeps playing, no matter what he does to the actual instruments. He shows Harper to a room, which used to belong to his sister. He asks if she needs medical help, since she’s walking funny, but she insists that she wants to be alone. So he leaves her be. Rhen and Grey take their frustrations out on each other in a sword fight. As they finish, we’re introduced to the antagonist, a sorcerer named Lilith. Although the book never outright says as much, it’s heavily implied that she’s the source of this curse. She spends a lot of time mocking Rhen, and then resorts to outright torture (Joy). But when all is said and done, reminds him that he’s the reason why his people are suffering. Which… Yeah. Kind of been saying that from the get-go.

Chapter 6

I’ve been avoiding the food all morning, but the scent of warm biscuits and honey has swelled to fill the room. I haven’t eaten since last night, but fear of drugged food is stopping me. I lie on the bed, boots and all, and think. All I can think about is food. Eventually, I take a tentative bite. The biscuit flakes in my mouth. The honey is warm and gentle on my tongue. The cheese all but melts. It’s literally the best food I’ve ever tasted. Nothing happens, so I eat my fill.

But isn’t that the point, though? To have a slow acting agent that allows you to eat your fill and then an hour later… BAM. Out cold.

Then he’s gone, and the door is locked once again.

Chapter 6 summary: Alone in the room, Harper starts to take stock of what’s around her. In the closet, not only does she find a lot of ballgowns and such, but also jewellery. She feels sick at the thought that while her mother had to pawn her engagement ring, here’s this asshole with drawers full of fucking diamond tiaras. Even though she fully acknowledges that her family’s money problems aren’t Rhen’s fault, she’s still angry. She eventually gives in and eats. Once she’s full, she starts to look through her phone. I thought that it was hers, but it’s actually her brother’s. She finds some photos on it, selfies of Jake and their mother. She’s startled when she finds Jake taking selfies with some random guy. She looks through his messages, and finds one from somebody she doesn’t know, Noah. In it, this Noah guy expresses worry for Jake. Harper is baffled when Jake said “I love you” to Noah. She hadn’t realised her brother was in a relationship. The door starts to open, and Harper tries to attack whoever comes through. However, she’s quick to realise that she messed up when she ends up on the floor with Grey glaring down at her. They have this moment where they “scuffle” over the dropped phone. It’s not exactly a fair fight, what with Harper being physically disabled and injured, and Grey being a trained fighter. But it’s obvious that Grey doesn’t care that much about her keeping her phone, especially since he says that they don’t work out there anyway. He then coolly informs her that dinner is “at full dark” (which isn’t fucking useful info; that could be anywhere from 7 to midnight), and that Rhen will come to get her for it.

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ACSDAL chapters 3 & 4

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Chapter 3

I can remember my own arrogance. I want to walk out of the castle and fling myself off a cliff. That doesn’t work. I’ve tried. More than once.

Why do I get the feeling that it would have saved a lot of people an awful lot of grief?

Practiced words wait on my tongue, though sometimes it takes the girls a while to awaken from the sleeping ether Grey gives them. They’re always frightened at first, but I’ve learned how to ease their fears, to charm and coax them into trusting me. Only to destroy that trust when autumn slides into winter. When they see me change.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." My buddy. After the first five attempts went wrong… YOU HAD TO HAVE FUCKING REALISED THAT IT WAS TIME TO FUCKING TRY SOMETHING NEW. The fact that he’s been doing this for like… 300+ years is simply so baffling to me. Like you’re the fucking problem here, asshole.

“You are safe here. May I have your weapon?” Her eyes slide to Grey, to where his hand remains on the hilt of his sword. “No way.” “You fear Grey? Easily solved.” I look at him. “Commander. You are ordered to not harm this girl.”

Wow, colour me reassured that he’s not going to attack me again!! /sarcasm

As if I don’t have time in spades. “Go,” I say. “Bring her back.”

Chapter 3 summary: Rhen sits around, contemplating his fate. He thinks about his dead parents. He thinks about killing himself, but tells the readers that he’s tried to do it but the curse stops him from actually dying. He thinks about what the girl is going to be like this time. Then he’s drawn from the room by a kerfuffle. He goes to see what’s going on, and finds Grey wrestling with an unknown girl (note: known to the readers, but not to Grey or Rhen). He orders Grey back, and to not harm the girl, but that does little to ease her obvious fears. She then attacks Rhen with the crowbar, but he easily deflects her attack. When she takes off, Rhen orders that Grey go bring her back.

Chapter 4

I don’t know how to hot-wire a car, but I do know how to ride.

So this girl’s family is so broke that they can’t afford medicine for their sick mother, and both father and brother have resorted to working for a loan shark. Yet this girl, living in the middle of… New York or something, knows how to fucking ride a goddamned horse. Does the author know how expensive that even horseback riding lessons are? What the hell is going on here?

“Go!” I cry. “Please, Will! Go!” I dig my heels into [the horse’s] sides. Will leaps across the aisle, finds purchase, and bolts. Tears blur my vision, but sight won’t help me stay on. I’ve lost both stirrups already, and we’re careening over cobblestones. The fingers of my left hand tangle in Will’s mane, and my other hand has wrapped around his neck. When we hit the grass, the horse is like a pumping oil rig, slamming me up and down with each stride. A sharp whistle cuts the air behind me, three short chirps of sound. Will digs in his hooves, skids to a stop, and whirls. I don’t have a chance. I go flying over his shoulder and crash into the turf.

Okay, so she finds herself in a mysterious castle, full of shit that she can’t explain. When she leaves the main building, the first thing she does is to stumble upon a horse stable. She then decides that the best course of action would be to steal somebody’s horse and ride off into the sunset with it. And then she’s somehow surprised that these people, who spirited her away to a mysterious castle so far out of anything she knows that the literal season is different, finds a room full of instruments that play themselves… AND THINKS THAT THEY WOULDN’T HAVE TRAINED THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR HORSES?!

So I grit my teeth, lock down my emotions, and reach up to take his hand.

Chapter 4 summary: Harper obviously takes off, confused about where she is. As she runs, the timer for her brother goes off, and she worries about him. But obviously, she needs to get out of there before she can think about her brother. She stumbles into a music room, and is startled when the instruments lift up and begin to play. She tries to convince herself that it’s some animatronic thing, and is even more startled when she grabs a flute and finds that it’s literally nothing but a regular flute. No wires, no gears. When she lets go, the flute readjusts itself and keeps playing, as if nothing had happened. She goes outside, where she’s dismayed to find that there’s no cell signal. She then finds a horse stable full of horses. She does explain why she knows how to ride: her life wasn’t always shit, and her dad wasn’t always in-debt to loan sharks. Part of her physical therapy as somebody with cerebral palsy was horseback riding. But that obviously stopped when shit hit the fan. She saddles up a horse she randomly names “Will”, and urges him to go right as people come into the stables in search of her. However, the horse is too well-trained, and stops when Grey whistles for it. The people then encourage her to come back inside, to eat and rest. Harper is injured, but on top of that is her CP. She knows that she’s not going to be able to outrun them forever with her condition. She has to play it smart. So she decides to go with them for now.

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Currently Reading...

Currently Reading...

Tumblr, wordpress, facebook, free patreon: A Curse so Dark and Lonely (Cursebreaker 1)

Patreon for $1/month: Blood for Blood (Wolf by Wolf 2)

Youtube: On Hiatus

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A Curse so Dark and Lonely chapters 1 & 2

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Chapter 1

“Any special requests, my lord?” In the beginning, I was frivolous enough to say yes. I’d specify blondes or brunettes. Big breasts, or long legs, or tiny waists. I’d wine them and woo them and when they did not love me, another was easily found.

We all know how this is going to go, even on book 1, chapter 1, page 2. Buddy, you’re the fucking problem. This is why you got cursed to start with.

For the three hundred twenty-seventh time.

Chapter 1 summary: As the reviews on goodreads state, this is yet another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Rhen is our “beast”, somebody who was put under the curse. However, over the course of… I think 327 years (Don’t quote me on that), he’s basically killed most of the people who lived on the island with him. Now, it’s basically him, and six other people. The only other person we’re introduced to right now is the captain of his guard (by default, since everybody else is dead), Grey. It’s the start of a new “season”, ergo, Grey is going to go off and find another woman for Rhen to try and seduce. I guess to break the curse. Worth noting that Rhen also has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde style transformation, where he doesn’t remember anything once he’s back to normal.

Chapter 2

We don’t really have money to spend, but Jake always needs time to unwind, and he says coffee helps. It ratchets me up so I can’t sleep, which means I don’t crash until four in the morning and then I miss school. I’ve missed enough days of my senior year that it probably doesn’t matter anymore. I sure don’t have any friends who’ll miss me.

Wow, colour me shocked that the female lead is a Troubled Youth™, with a Shitty Family©. HAVEN’T SEEN THIS BEFORE IN A RETELLING OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!! Why the hell has this become the standard? Belle was highly educated. But somehow, it’s turned into… morons with issues who will fall in love with a psycho simply because he’ll ply her with alcohol and freedom from her shitty life.

Instead, the sky disappears altogether.

Chapter 2 summary: Meet our female lead, Harper. As mentioned, she’d a troubled youth. Her father was in deep with a loan shark (I think?), and then when he disappeared, the shark put the pressure on her brother, Jake, to go shake people down instead. Jake always drags Harper along to these meetings, in the hope that if something goes wrong, Harper can go get their mum and flee. Harper is doing exactly that when she sees this drunk lady she thinks is a prostitute stumble out from a bar with some random man. But then Harper’s sense of wrongness tingles when she sees the man “attacking” the woman. It’s something in between what Harper either decides is murder, or trying to traffic the woman. It’s also worth noting that Harper has cerebral palsy. Harper attacks the man, but she doesn’t exactly do a good job thanks to her condition. Obviously, this only pisses the guy off, and he knocks her out.

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On Deck...

Maybe somebody, somewhere is upset that I won't finish the Firebird series. But I don't think that I have it in me to slog through the rest of it. I was barely able to do the one book.

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On Deck...

TJ Powar has Something to Prove

A Heart so Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers 2)

Love and Other Unknown Variables

A Vow so Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers 3)

Swept Away

The Vault Between Spaces

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Firebird chapters 19-21, epilogue

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Chapter 19

Firebird lunged for the glossy panels and touched one off, but Rattela heaved her away. Phoena reactivated the tone. “That’s enough. Guards. Restraint table.” Five burly uniformed men moved in.

Chapter 19 summary: Firebird goes into a room full of Phoenix’s goon-squad. Despite the fact that she clearly had the upper hand in literally any situation (including combat and weaponry), she intentionally lets them overpower her so that they can take her to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Brenn keeps a mental tab on Firebird while he goes around and plants explosives all over the base. They drag Firebird down to where Phoenix is. She gloats for most of the chapter about how stupid Firebird is, how she betrayed them… blah-blah-blah. In the end, shit starts to go wrong with Brenn, and I think that Phoenix ends up gassing him. Do I care? Not really. Mainly because… Despite the fact that he’s supposed to be the male lead, he’s honestly been kind of terrible. He’s also…??? Somehow barely a character? I don’t even know how you manage to fuck up a story this much.

Chapter 20

Firebird could feel drowsy submissiveness taking hold of her too quickly to resist. So much for “the honor of the family.”

Is this a fucking joke? Please tell me that this is nothing but the author’s attempt at “dark humour”. Since the start of the story and the introduction of “wastlings”, there has been nothing remotely “honourable” about literally any of this. Issuing orders to have your own younger sisters kill themselves, simply because it’s inconvenient for you? Come on.

He glanced her way. “I love you.”

Chapter 20 summary: The others freak out when they realise that Brenn is one of those highly trained mindreaders, which they think could cause problems. Phoenix orders that her sister be drugged. However, I still don’t quite understand literally a single motive that she has here. Since I thought the entire point of doing all of this was to kill Firebird, and yet… She drugs Firebird instead? I seriously don’t get it. Anyway, Firebird wakes up some time later to them injecting wake-up drugs inside of her. They take her to where they’re holding Brenn, who had been awoken by the anguished mental scream of Firebird. Then they tie them up, and… Leave them to die? But they didn’t do a good job of tying them up, so they’re able to escape pretty easily. As they get away, Brenn randomly tells Firebird that he loves her.

Chapter 21

“Hesed is a sanctuary of my people.” Thrust caught them, and they lifted. “A retreat—much like Hunter Height but more pastoral. Very restful. And it would be a beautiful place for a wedding. A simple one.” He touched her hand on the console. “If you would want it, knowing what it would mean.”

I would hardly consider this to be a happy ending for Firebird. She stops being enslaved to one people and instead finds herself forever chained to the man who pulled her out from her wrecked ship.

Like fire kissing water, the little ship winked out of space.

Chapter 21 summary: Phoenix had tied them up so that they could face the firing squad. However, when they break out, they randomly pull out guns… From where, I don’t know, and at this point, I kind of don’t give a shit. They start fighting, then steal a nearby gun ship so that they can continue their assault from the air. In the end, they obviously get away, seeing as how there’s more books after this. Phoenix’s little boytoy goes running to Cariedee, only for the queen to have finally caught up with her sister. Obviously, having a huge firefight like that is going to draw everybody’s attention. Cariedee is obviously super disappointed with Phoenix, even more so when she realises that her sister had been building nukes… Which she planed to use against the Federation. And although she does issue punishments, it’s not nearly half as much considering the crimes committed. Meanwhile, Firebird and Brenn have left the planet. He tells her about a “lovely little spot to get married”. Firebird decides to accept this and him, so they set off into space.

Epilogue

Carrying her like a holy vessel, he walked back across the stones over the water, along the wide way, and through the arching door of their bedchamber.

Epilogue summary: They go to that other planet to convalesce following the incident on Firebird’s home planet. Brenn is obviously eventually contacted by his superiors, who are disappointed with him, but also kind of understand. The book ends with Brenn and Firebird getting married. I’m going to count this as the end of a stand alone book, because I do NOT have it in me to read four more books of this bullshit. Bye.

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Firebird chapter 18

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Chapter 18

He dug into the pack and handed her two food cubes, and she crunched them dry. “Here.” He dropped two more small, hard lumps into her hand. Citrene! “Thanks.” She popped both onto her tongue, then drank a gulp of water from his bottle.

Is there literally any other explanation other than the fact that she literally swallowed two pieces of yellow quartz? If the author is making up words now, would she like to share with the class?

Firebird pressed her palm to the slick black panel and heard the latch release, resecured her grip on the blazers, and then, flinging the door wide, she went in shooting.

Chapter 18 summary: Elliott meets up with some military general (or whatever), who demands to know where Brenn is. They randomly go into a really fancy restaurant, where Elliott basically throws her friend under the bus. The general is upset to find out that Brenn has chosen somebody outside of their species to mate with, even though… Firebird sure as shit hasn’t chosen him. Anyway, back over with our two idiots… They’ve landed on a planet. I thought that they were going after a ship, but I don’t even fucking know anymore. They sneak in after sooooo many pages of them blathering about a stupid plan. Once in there, Brenn overhears people saying that Phoenix is also there, so he obviously tells Firebird about this. Shit man, did they actually fly all the way back to her homeworld? And end up in Phoenix’s military coup nest? What a fucking idiot. Anyway, it’s not long before everybody else realises that they’re in there, but not who they are. Since guards don’t come rushing for them right away, Firebird thinks that then they’ll simply gas them instead. Rather than to get out from the tiny, poorly-ventalated servant’s halls, they instead… stand in there and start hashing out a plan. This also takes forever to get to the point. In the end, Brenn asks Firebird if she’s okay with killing her own people. Firebird agrees, insisting that they’ve ruined the planet. Despite the fact… They haven’t changed since the start of the story. It’s Firebird who has. Whatever. She goes off to do her own thing.

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Firebird chapter 17

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Chapter 17

“You and I are going to Hunter Height.” “Tierna Coll changed her mind? How did you do it?” “She didn’t.” Firebird leaned against the doorway. “You mean to go without orders?” “Against orders,” he corrected calmly.

The council barely granted her asylum. This guy’s seriously touched in the head if he thinks that this is a good idea.

“Knowing that Naetai will be eligible for full Federate covenance in five years?” “There are N’Taians who won’t ever want that.”

Hey, so quick question: have we tried asking people who aren’t royals what it is that they want? Because we’ve only been inside the heads of two different princesses. How do we know that the peasants aren’t sick and tired of watching a princess be born, grow up, only to be killed simply because her oldest sister popped out two kids? How do we know that the peasants don’t want to join the federation?

Could I attend Firebird’s trial? As Queen, I would have to. I couldn’t veto an execution order if the Electorate handed it down. They’d have my crown. Please! she whispered to the unseen Powers. Keep Firebird on Altai.

Even though she couldn’t stop her council from ordering Firebird killed, I still feel like as queen, there is still stuff she could do to prevent Firebird from being brought back to “face justice”. Such as begging the Federation to keep Firebird under their protection, and insist that Firebird would be murdered if she were to be brought back.

Firebird smiled smugly. “That’s why your recon flights haven’t picked it up.”

Chapter 17 summary: Firebird explains her line of thinking to Brenn. When she’s finished, Elliott comes in and chews Brenn out for having “picked” a woman of a different species to mate with; it’s apparently quite shameful. I don’t give a shit, however. You know he’s going to do it, regardless of what people say. Brenn then tells Firebird that he wants to go out to the spot to look for the mining ship. But this is going against orders. You know, because these people have nothing to fear from either government, especially ones that are still sort of at war with one another. They get into a ship, and Firebird wrestles with her feelings for Brenn. She doesn’t really know how she feels. He then uses his powers to show her how HE feels, which is… kind of icky, I’m not going to lie. But Firebird acts like it’s seriously the best thing ever. We jump over to Cariedee, who looks around at Firebird’s old room. A lot of Firebird’s things are now gone, thanks to Phoenix and her shitty agenda against her sister. It makes Cariedee upset. She knows that she couldn’t stand to be there for her sister’s trial, should there be one. That if she were to try and stop Firebird from being killed, the council would strip her of her crown. The only thing she can think to do is to pray… Even though I feel like she’s not out of options, as I mentioned. Firebird and Brenn finally get to the place where the ship went “missing”. They look around for a bit, before they find it. Perfectly camouflaged with the rock. So they have space ships, but not fucking radar or heat signature technology?

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Firebird chapter 16

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Chapter 16

“I’m certain your sister will do the honorable thing if confronted honorably.” [image description: the words “honorable” and “honorably” are underlined in red]

I feel like… Maybe she should have consulted the thesaurus for this one.

“Two ambassadors arrived yesterday from Naetai, requesting that you be transferred to their custody.” “They can’t do that. There’s an entire week left on my asylum.” “They timed this deliberately. The Council…” Anger lines gathered on his forehead. “They mean to put you on trial.” “They’re not going to send me back, are they?” she protested, backing away. His silence frightened her. “Brenn?” “I don’t know. The Council has granted them a special hearing tomorrow night. I won’t be able to use my abilities to help you, as badly as I would like to. I must allow events to take their natural course. That is our law. Ellet will be there, as well.”

Why the hell did they bother to help her if they were only going to throw her away the second she was no longer useful? Honestly, if this is how they’re going to treat asylum seekers, then I’m sorry that Firebird ever threw her lot in with them.

“As a sovereign government under the protectorship of the Interstellar Federacy…” The Marshal paused for emphasis and glared at Brennen. “We do insist that our internal laws be respected.”

Bitch, you threw peace into the federation’s face because they were sitting on resources that you wanted. Your word means nothing.

But Firebird remained silent a moment longer, for a lifetime of unquestioning loyalty lay behind her. She must vow away her aristocratic pride before Friel and her single-minded determination to win glory before her Marshal. It was a high price to pay, to become a full person.

Horace the dead horse here to remind everybody that her sister ordering for her to be murdered was always going to be her fate should she remain on her planet. I’m so sick and tired of her acting like she’s holding some sort of moral high-ground here for defending a society that literally viewed her as disposable trash to take itself out in a few years.

“That ship that vanished—the Blue Rain—I’m sure Naetai has it. They’ve got to be working on that irradium project again. And I think I know where.”

Chapter 16 summary: Phoenix works to build up her army. I don’t give a shit. She also continues to plot to have Firebird dragged back home and murdered properly, since the first attempt failed. Later, Brenn tells Firebird that in the morning, she’s to face down a council. Some of them are people from her home planet who are representing their own interests (notably not Firebird’s). The rest are members of the federation’s government, the people who’ve been overseeing Firebird’s asylum application. He tells her that there isn’t much he can do to help her at this point. They go to this meeting, and the people from the other planet are like “Let us handle our affairs internally. Please.” However, the federation people are like “Okay, well what happened to YOUR mining vassal that mysteriously disappeared in OUR airspace? What do you mean you don’t want to talk politics? You literally said that you wanted to handle things internally, yet you’re still sticking your noses into OUR resources. WHICH IS WHY WE’RE ALL HERE RIGHT NOW, DIPSHIT.” Then they basically go around the room and state their case. I think you already know how each of their arguments goes. In the end, Firebird randomly decides that no matter where she ends up, she’s going to die. I’m… not quite sure how we reached that phase and so quickly. Probably years of suicidal idealisation, but that only a guess. /sarcasm. She goes on to insist that Brenn give her a knife, so that she can do it right here and now. Eventually and because you knew they would, they tell the people from Firebird’s home to fuck off, and grant Firebird full asylum now. Obviously doing this means she has to denounce her old homeworld, and swear loyalty to the new. She and Brenn go back to where she’s been kept, where he demands to talk about why she was so keen to kill herself in the courtroom earlier. She brushes that off and instead talks about the “missing” mining ship.

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Firebird chapter 14

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Chapter 15

The door slid open. In civilian clothes, Brennen stood a long pace back. He met her eyes from the distance, undoubtedly reading her feelings but applying no pressure. “Hello.” He gave her a slight, careful smile. “May I talk with you?”

This chapter is 12 fucking pages long. I’m pretty sure that it’s nothing but them discussing their future. I am not looking forward to this. At all.

“I’ve missed you, Brenn. I want you to know that.” He set an arm on the table and brushed back hair from his forehead, caught off guard again. “You’ve been with me,” he said softly. “Every memory I own is very, very vivid. If I’d had a clue, though, that Ellet would have treated you this way…”

YOU KNEW EACH OTHER FOR LIKE A WEEK. SHE WAS A FUCKING PRISONER OF WAR, UNDER HIS CARE. At this point, I’m honestly not even sure what’s a bigger red flag here.

“I never meant to deceive you. I’ve gone slowly, Mari.”

I’m sorry, is he…??? Is he calling her by the name he randomly gave her right when he found her? After an intense session in which he FORCED HIMSELF INTO HER MIND IN ORDER TO GAIN PLANETARY SECRETS?! The only thing worse than the timeline in this book is how he’s assigned a whole-ass new identity to her, and decided that he’s in love with Mari. Like who the fuck is Mari? This is fucking Firebird.

“Why should I believe you will let me change my own mind?” “I see that Ellet succeeded in one thing. You fear the very ways I would hope to please you. Now I’m afraid to show my feelings.” “I would be helpless, unable to—to back out if I…” “To get away?” Angrily he echoed Ellet’s phrase. “I’d never try to coerce you, overpower you, or trick you. I want to be loved and accepted for myself too, not for what I can do with my epsilon skills. If you fear them, I’ll do nothing for you that another man could not.”

What the fucking hell, man.

She sighed. When would she ever go home—and to what?

While my first response is to cheer that she’s finally starting to catch on… But like… I don’t think that she’s really comprehending any of what’s going on. Her own sister literally took out a hit on her. And it was thanks to Elliott’s fucking incompetence that Firebird almost fucking DIED. AND SHE’S STILL WONDERING ABOUT GOING BACK?!

“It’s not time to eat yet, is it?” “As a matter of fact.” He touched the panel. “If that’s how closely you watch your instruments, I’m surprised you passed flight school.”

This is a girl who fucking graduated from goddamned military school— WITH HONOURS— and didn’t even know what the war she was being shipped off to was about.

“Actually, you are a good pilot, for such a new one. The NPN was foolish to waste you.” “Despite the fact that I couldn’t even crash a fighter-craft properly when I was supposed to?”

Oh no, you crashed perfectly fine. The problem was that you couldn’t KILL YOURSELF properly! I hope that this helps!

“What about your Academy, Mari?”

It’s not so much that he keeps calling her Mari as it is that Firebird’s permissiveness in allowing it. Like up until this point, she’s been an absolute spitfire, who gets loud and in people’s faces, even when it’s socially unacceptable and makes others uncomfortable. Yet the NANOSECOND that a cute guy shows up, she turns into a fucking doormat? Sure Jan. This is why I don’t like reading books older than I am. You know this shit wouldn’t fly with Katniss Everdeen.

Uncomfortable, she hesitated. “Under it all, I think you’re as lonely as I am.” “ ‘Lonely’ is not quite the right word.”

They aren’t even in love with each other. They’re simply horny and lonely, and the other person is convenient.

“I was a Wastling, Brenn. I wasn’t supposed to have children, and I didn’t try to want them.”

She does know that she’s free from that shit now, right? Furthermore, simply because Brenn was the one to rescue her doesn’t mean she has to shackle herself to him for the rest of their lives.

“You wouldn’t want it.” “Would you?” “Brennen, that name has been my life.” “It almost took your life.”

I get what he’s saying. But at the same time… It’s not his decision to make. And yet, he’s been making it for her this entire fucking chapter. If she were to say that she did want to become somebody new, to become Mari… Then fine. I would not have a problem with this. But Brenn decided FOR HER who she should become.

How could she explain that she was terrified, not of his feelings, but her own?

Chapter 15 summary: So Brenn has shown up. They briefly talk about what happened with Elliott and… Korn. (I don’t even fucking know anymore. These names exit my brain as soon as they’re off the page.) Then Brenn gets to the real reason why he’s there: because he desires her carnally. As you might imagine, Firebird is pretty apprehensive of… not so much being in a relationship with this near-stranger, but the “psychic bond” that Elliot had mentioned in the previous chapter. Brenn will also not stop calling her Mari the entire time that they’re talking. Some time later, Brenn takes Firebird for a joyride in a new ship. When they stop, he uses his mind powers on her in a random meadow. It’s seriously giving “Twilight meadow scene”. Anyway, this launches Firebird into a discussion about what it would mean for them to be bonded. He… kind of dances around the subject, and talks about how his mum almost didn’t survive the death of his dad. Which in no way actually answers her questions. They talk about how lonely that they are, but still never addresses the issue. When he brings up about how he wants kids, she talks about how she tried not to let herself want things like that. To have hopes for her own future, since her only future was certain death. He reminds her that she should be free, and pressures her to accept the new name of Mari. Again, this is beyond shitty. Then he randomly jumps off from a little ledge, and encourages her to do the same. And it’s not so much that I mind it, but it kind of feels like one of those faith-based “trust falls”, and it’s… kind of an odd scene.

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Firebird chapter 14

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Chapter 14

Firebird wrapped both hands around her cup. “You hesitated to voice-command. You let Korda fire.” “Yes.”

I’m a little more concerned over why it was that these people were allowed in the same room as Firebird… Let alone why the fuck they were allowed in the room with fucking WEAPONS.

“Vultor Korda is a traitor to my people. Worse: a partially trained traitor. He was granted diplomatic immunity for his assignment to Alta by a committee of N’Taians —as was Rattela, who was evidently under house arrest, as we find out now, and shouldn’t have been allowed offplanet at all. So long as Korda didn’t commit certain crimes, I couldn’t touch him. But he is a criminal. He deserves death. We police our own kind, Firebird, and the Sentinel who abuses his epsilon skills sheathes a crystace in his heart.” “So you wanted to catch him in an offense, but it had to be an extremely serious one. Such as murder.”

I get it, but at the same time… He could have fucking killed Firebird simply so that they could entrap him!

“Someone had better warn you that Brennen Caldwell is interested in you, and I don’t mean politically.”

Ah yes. The guy who rescued her because he was surprised to find that a WOMAN was piloting a space-craft. The same guy who forced his mind-reading powers onto her. Following that, he spent like three days being her political guard, before fucking off to go overthrow her home government. The same guy who hasn’t seen her for several weeks at this point. That guy.

Absorbed in misery, he did not watch her go.

Chapter 14 summary: Back with Phoenix (whatever the fuck her name is), Korda comes back to report about how he’d failed to kill Firebird. Phoenix is upset, but dismisses the idea that Carreedee could issue a stronger decree to kill their sister. She then starts telling Korda about how they should gather up people who are upset about their planet being taken over, and start raising up a rebellion. After Korda is gone, she turns to her husband and heavily implies that she’d like to soon do away with not only Carreedee, but also Ccaarreedee’s two daughters. Back with Firebird, she’s obviously still quite upset over what happened. When Elliott comes back to check on her, she demands to know why this happened. Elliott tells her that it was a trap. That he knew that Korda was up to no good, but he needed actual proof. And while Firebird understands his reasoning… I find it insanely shitty that he would have put Firebird’s life at risk simply to get this proof. Elliott then randomly changes the topic and he’s like “So anyway, Brenn like-likes you, you know.” He goes on to explain to her about the “mind bond” that their species share, which is pretty much what it sounds like. But he warns that it can be kind of a lot for people who aren’t their species. He’s telling Firebird this so that she can make a fully informed decision, and not be “mind bond” trapped by this asshole. Later, Brenn comes home on some leave. As you can imagine, the first thing he does is to go see Firebird. Outside the door, Elliott uses their mind powers to show Brenn what happened. Brenn is pissed off that Elliott would have done something so risky, and put Firebird’s life on the line like that. He orders Elliott to leave.

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Firebird chapter 13

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Chapter 13

“But the Electorate was supposedly dissolved. What are they asking for?” Firebird asked uneasily. She and Ellet sat on opposite ends of the green lounger. “You tell me.” “They intend to take me back with them.” “Correct. Specifically, ‘The surrender of First Major Firebird Angelo, reportedly captured at the battle of VeeRon.’”

I hope that it goes without saying, but this is a fucking trap. I know Firebird is kind of stupid, but I sure hope that she’s not this goddamned dumb.

“Suns, Firebird, this is no place for a Lady of the House of Angelo. Aren’t you ready to go back to the palace?”

I seriously don’t know what fucked-up game that they’re playing here. Honestly, it’s appalling that they’d let people from Firebird’s homeplanet get this close to her. Especially since they all know that Firebird’s sister is out to get her. IT’S ALMOST LIKE A FUCKING PRINCESS WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO HITMEN OR SOMETHING. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?!

“But they did say,” insisted Rattela, “that if you chose to return with us, they would guarantee you safe passage to Naetai.”

I’m sorry, maybe I missed something here. Why guarantee safe passage when they’re only going to murder her as soon as she gets there? What fucking game are you playing here, dipshit?

“Your people are shamed by you. The treachery you have dealt us will not be undone in many lifetimes. You would be wise to return to Sae Angelo and undo the bitterness with which people speak your name.”

Kind of sounds like a “them problem”. I’m not going back only to die. Which I’d like to remind everybody… THEY WERE GOING TO DO BEFORE TURNING TRAITOR. THE PUBLIC OPINION HASN’T CHANGED, ONLY THEIR MOTIVATION.

Korda drew a tiny weapon and she feinted left to draw his fire, then threw herself hard to the right. His shot missed.

Excuse me, I have to go beat my head against a wall. How the fuck could they possibly be this goddamned STUPID?! DID LITERALLY NOBODY THINK TO CHECK THESE RECENTLY CONQUERED ENEMIES FOR FUCKING WEAPONS?! AND THEN FOR THEM TO HAVE FUCKING ACCESS TO A POLITICAL TRAITOR?!

Firebird met EHet’s [sic] stare. What had the Sentinel been thinking, to let those two in?

THANK YOU! Also, I love how there’s a fucking typo in this. I can only assume that it’s from the book itself… Seeing as how it’s so miserable to read. I doubt any editor would have wanted to touch this… OR ELSE IT WOULDN’T BE SO FUCKING BAD.

Ellet shrugged, and the tableau broke. She lowered her hand. “All right, Vultor Korda,” she warned, her voice so full of hatred that it frightened Firebird. “Any quick move and you will lose your diplomatic immunity.”

Diplomatic… I’M SORRY, BUT THIS GUY FUCKING TRIED TO ASSASSINATE SOMEBODY. SCREW DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY.

Was it a crime to be N’Taian? her thoughts ran on. To be captured? Questioned by—wait— The drug took her instantly.

Chapter 13 summary: Brenn continues to clean up the shitstorm that is Firebird’s home planet. However, as I keep circling back to… It’s a huge undertaking. And he seems to be the only one going around and doing shit. However, it’s hard to give a shit about it. None of this fucking matters, and I wonder why the author was so hung up over describing such throw-away scenes over and over and over and… Later, Firebird has this weird conversation with Elliott about their mind-reading powers. It’s more of that stuff where I understand the words on an individual basis, but when they’re strung together in this order… Again. It’s like I’m reading a language that I barely understand. It’s frustrating. Firebird tries to ask what happens when two people with this mind-reading ability have sex, but Elliott is quick to shut her down. A couple of days later, “ambassadors” from Firebird’s home planet show up to basically try and guilt Firebird into coming back home. Obviously, she’s not that fucking stupid. But then the guy who had previously promised Firebird’s older sister to go “take care of” Firebird is like “Bitch, I don’t think that you understand what I’m saying.” He then decides that since Firebird won’t come with them right now, then he’ll have to attack her. However, I think every single one of these idiots forgot that Firebird is literally a trained soldier, so she easily defeats them. Where’s Elliott during all of this, you ask? Who fucking knows. Standing with his nose on the wall, if I had to guess. He only shows up after the fighting is over, and only to politely tell the assholes to leave the planet and not come back. Elliott then drugs Firebird because she’s heavily injured and needs to rest in order to heal.

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[percontaion-points]

Firebird chapter 12

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Chapter 12

You must be aware by now of our tradition of heir limitation. For the present we are willing to accept the Federacy’s injunction outlawing it. However, previous to the establishment of the Protectorate, a number of younger scions of noble houses were granted expensive education and training and the wherewithal to make for themselves the most honorable end possible. This was considered an investment in the nobility of our homeland. Our sister Lady Firebird accepted such gifts, but took gross advantage of them and reportedly lives now under Federate protection. We and our Electorate deem it only reasonable in this particular case to request that the Federacy repay the House of Angelo the following expenses incurred anticipating her contribution to the glory of Naetai, which apparently were squandered… Brennen blinked at the screen. Siwann’s former Electors—still meeting illegally as Carradee’s—meant to bill the Federacy for four years of Academy education, all jet and laser-ion fuel thereby consumed, uniform allowance including jeweled rank insignia and—a thirty-million-gild tagwing fightercraft?

The goddamned audacity of the entire thing. Like how the hell is it Firebird’s fault that she rejected your offer to kill her, and took shelter with the first people who offered it to her? Kind of sounds like a “you” problem.

The message’s postscript iced the cake. The tone changed, implying a different author, and suggested the Federacy bind Firebird into servitude to pay off the debt herself.

YO, WHAT THE FUCK.

“I do wish there were a way to get to Alta. I would love to show her she cannot escape the N’Taian Electorate.” “Do you mean that?” Korda stopped midfloor and stared into Phoena Angelo’s eyes as deeply as he could. Yes, she pulsed with hatred, and yes, she would pay any price to see her treacherous sister dead.

Now, I’m pretty sure that she’s talking about how Firebird jumped ship and helped out their war-time enemy. But my problem is… Phoena has had this attitude towards Firebird since the start of the book. This isn’t a new sentiment towards her sister.

Its motion seemed jerky and imperfect, for Korda could not control the rate of alpha flow.

I beg your finest pardon. I have no fucking idea what the hell that this is supposed to mean. (Reminder: this book was published in 1987, well before the invention of the “omegaverse”.) I still feel like this book was written in a language that I took like one semester of 5 years ago.

Alone on her tattered green lounger, Firebird pored over an Altan newscan and grieved for her homeland. Her memory, her knowledge, had helped engineer this disaster.

That’s… That’s usually how that goes, yes. I would ask why it’s surprising to her… But she deadass went through military school, participated in the local government, and went to fly out to a different plant without knowing WHY they were fighting in this war. Clearly, intelligence is not something she’s got a lot of.

Gratified, Firebird began the difficult etude she had so recently memorized.

Chapter 12 summary: Brenn is doing interviews with…??? Random citizens? The local government? It never really says who these people are. Obviously, he’s using his mind powers to really figure out if they mean what they’re saying. Don’t worry too much about this, as it never comes back up again. After sending the one guy off, Brenn then opens a letter from the local government. They’re like “While we understand that you think that us ordering people to simply off themselves whenever we feel like it is barbaric… We propose something else instead. You see, we sent Firebird to school on the taxpayer’s dollar. Naturally, this was under the assumption that she would be dead within the year, so it wouldn’t matter anyway. Now that she’s turned her back on her home-planet, we refuse to accept this. She must pay back all of the money… By being a slave!” It’s not noted how much that Firebird owes the government, but I get the impression that it’s quite a lot of money. Brenn is like “What a fat load” and disregards the message. Then over with Firebird’s second older sister, Phoena. She’s fuming mad about Firebird, but again… This isn’t somehow new for her character. She’s kind of like “Wouldn’t it be funny if somebody were to sneak into the city where Firebird is being kept, and… you know… totally joking and being hypothetical here… KILL HER.” And her friend is like “Bet.” Over with Firebird, she’s moping that she caused the destruction of her home, without any idea that like… That’s that natural occurrence after you handed over state/planet secrets? Anyway, she gets some letters from the people back home. The one from Phoena is like “BITCH, I’M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU.” Brenn left her a note with that one, apologising for including it, but deciding not to hide from her that her sister wants her dead. The next day, a package from Carreedee arrives, which is Firebird’s… alien musical instrument. Elliott comes in, and enjoys listening to Firebird playing.

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