Kushiel's Chosen

My first recommendation is: if you haven't read the first book in the series, Kushiel's Dart, this book may still be enjoyable for you, but not nearly as much. Each book in the series builds on the events of the ones before it, and I can't imagine reading this one without having read the first one. After the escape of Melisande Shahrizai from Troyes-le-Mont in Kushiel's Dart, Phedre is uneasy. The Skaldi have been defeated - thanks in no small part to Phedre and Joscelin - and peace restored in Terre d'Ange. Phedre has unexpectedly inherited Anafiel Delaunay's title and holdings in south western Terre d'Ange, the estate of Montreve in Siovale, and has been elevated to a peer of the realm. Now the Comtesse de Montreve, Phedre must decide if she returns to Naamah's service - something quite uncommon among the nobility. Upon receiving her sangoire cloak in a parcel from Melisande and a cryptic note, Phedre decides she must find Melisande, even if it means playing Melisande's game. Much to Joscelin's dismay (and at times, disgust), Phedre returns to Naamah's service hoping to pick up enough information to discover Melisande's whereabouts. When all signs point to La Serinissima, Queen Ysandre reluctantly grants permission for Phedre, Joscelin, and her three former-sailors-turned-guardsmen to depart. The major storylines in this book revolve around Phedre's ongoing battle of wits with Melisande - which given that it's Melisande, involves the rulers of Terre d'Ange and La Serenissima and the fates of those nations - the relationship between Phedre and Joscelin, and the undercurrent surrounding the Yeshuites in Terre d'Ange and La Serenissima. This book is just as well written as Kushiel's Dart. The characters are incredibly vivid, new and recurring characters alike. The strife between Phedre and Joscelin is heartbreakingly written; you can't help but feel for both of them. Their irritation with each other's choices and actions, Joscelin's despair over Phedre's actions regarding Severio Stregazza and Melisande, and then Phedre's imprisonment...Carey certainly knows how to write a suspenseful plot! Phedre's desperation to get back to La Serenissima rolls off the pages, Joscelin's fight in the temple of Asherat-by-the-sea is indeed epic, and Ysandre's courage shines in the final sequence. Equally wonderful are all the little touches and minor plot points: when Phedre sees Benedicte de la Courcel's bride and infant son from a distance during a visit to a friend of Allegra Stregazza's at the Little Court; all the little instances where the gods or spirits make their presence known to Phedre and other mortals; the reunion of Kazan and his mother once the curse has been broken; the alteration in behavior of Severio Stregazza over the course of the book; Phedre planting the seeds for improved working conditions for the courtesans in La Serenissima; the realities of the desperate ride of Ysandre and her retinue from La Serenissima back to Terre d'Ange versus the romanticization the story takes on later; the intricacies of Melisande's schemes (although I suppose I can't really consider that a "minor" plot point or "little" touch); and finally, the richness of detail in every new place Phedre visits. Some readers may find certain situations in this book uncomfortable. Phedre discovers how poorly courtesans are treated in La Serenissima. Also, Phedre is taken prisoner by a pirate, and while he does not force her into his bed, it is unclear if he would if Phedre not a servant of Naamah (and therefore able to make the best of her situation). This is not something I'd even thought of until this most recent reading - my recent exposure to feminist and gender studies has made me more sensitive to situations of rape and sexual violence. {Review first published on bookreviews.skriletz.net}

This story is amazing! Love aside, enchantments, war, fighting, webs of deceit, and more. Absolutely thrilling! My second time through and I know I will read again and again

Beautifully written. Intricately woven with danger, romance and sensuality. The heroine is one of the most admirable characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading.