Royal Assassin

I gave Assassin’s Apprentice a solid 3.75 stars, and honestly, I expected to rate Royal Assassin lower. The first three-quarters of the book dragged so much I started to lose hope. But then Robin Hobb did what she always does.She starts slow. Painfully slow. But she does it for a reason. She's a master of planting seeds so quietly you don’t even notice until they all bloom into something breathtaking right at the end. The final chapters of Royal Assassin hit me like a tidal wave. Everything that had been slowly, carefully building just erupted into this unforgettable, gut-wrenching climax. I was floored. I will never recover, I fear. The pacing may be slow, but by the time you reach the ending, you realize it had to be. Every moment mattered. Robin Hobb’s prose is rich and absorbing and surprisingly cozy. You don’t just observe the characters, you become them. You feel their fears, their shame, their quiet joys. Even the side characters are vivid and alive. Burrich, Patience, Lacey, Kettricken, and the Fool. They’ve all carved out a little corner in my heart.And the magic. The Skill and the Wit are explored so much more deeply in this book, and Fitz’s bond with Nighteyes was one of my favorite parts. Their connection was so compelling and interesting to read about.As for the romance… I am such a sucker for yearning and heartbreak and all the messy emotions in between. Fitz and Molly gave me all of that. At times it was exhausting, frustrating even, but I still found myself rooting so hard for them. I need them to get their happy ending. If they don’t, I might have a personal vendetta against Robin Hobb.And then there's Regal. REGAL. That man infuriates me to no end. How did everyone just… not see it? After all his scheming in the first book, how was he still allowed to slither around unchecked? He got away with far too much for far too long, and it drove me insane. I cant think of anything else but this world and its characters and I’m so ready for Assassin’s Quest.