Die Gabe der Könige

4.5 stars, rounded to 5 stars. A classic high fantasy that I honestly should've read sooner.The only thing I knew going into this was that for a book named [b:Assassin's Apprentice|77197|Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)|Robin Hobb|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673728072l/77197._SY75_.jpg|171715], there's not a lot of assassinating going on. And it's a good thing I knew that going in.Instead, this is more a coming-of-age story of Fitz, a bastard of the Crown Prince, who grows up lonely because of his parentage and also because no one knows what to do with him. The story almost sounds similar to Maia from [b:The Goblin Emperor|17910048|The Goblin Emperor (The Chronicles of Osreth, #1)|Katherine Addison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373039517l/17910048._SX50_.jpg|24241248] but at least that's a happier book. Robin Hobb writes masterfully of future!Fitz going over his childhood and young adulthood, and the many twists and turns that come his way. Just because I know future!Fitz is telling the story, doesn't mean I wasn't concerned and on the edge of my seat with some of the climatic peaks in the book. A tiny 0.5 star ding however, because the resolution after one of the bigger scenes at the end of the book is glossed over, but for good reason since he's healing and recovering and didn't have an active part in that. It definitely threw me off though, since it was pretty close to the end.I've been told Fitz's story is only going to get more bumpy here on out, so reluctantly excited to read more of how Hobb plans to mess up Fitz's life.*If you are sensitive to animal death, this might not be the book for you as it happens a couple times in the book.

Pretty solid, but not perfect.I was vibing with Assassin's Apprentice for the most part. Robin Hobb’s writing is very impressive; super descriptive, immersive, and cozy, and she really knows how to capture the emotions of the characters, which makes it way easier to get invested in their journeys. The world-building is on point, and I loved how diverse the characters were, each with their own unique personalities. That being said, there were definitely some parts where it felt like things were just dragging. I get that there's a lot of build-up, but a couple of chapters could’ve been trimmed.But the best part? Hobb made me seriously care about Fitz. He definitely has abandonment issues and deals with depression. The way he talked about his loneliness and the way some of the other characters treated him so badly made me want to give him a big hug so it hurt even more because I couldn’t do anything but read about his pain. I'm so invested in his story and can't wait to see where he goes from here. oh, also shout out to Lady Patience!!! A QUEEN