Merry Meerkat Marginalia

Star Rating:  3.5, Borrow it.

Self purchase for kindle.

I’m having a hard time with a rating for this.  I guess I’m going with a 3.5 because of things I mention below.  I’m still unsure of this rating but I have to rate it something.

Originality:   I hate to say it but this book is pretty low on originality. All of the plot devices have been used before 100 times so nothing earth moving here.

Plot/Storyline:  For the most part, I find the story really good. However in the middle of the book, I find that it slows and drags on for a bit.  However, At the end of the book, it gets better and I suddenly had to finish it fast to see what happens. So it ended up much better than I thought it would. I’m glad I got the second volume in the series, cause I really do want to know how this continues.

Characters: Calaena is a pretty decent character. She has the right amount of spunk and actually does seem to act  like a teenager (but I don’t think an actual age is mentioned).  Though I am having a hard time believing she would be such an accomplished asassin at such a young age. In any case, those are relatively minor issues which I can write off. The prince, Dorian, I’m having a hard time believing. If his father is such a hard ass ruler, how come the son almost seems tender? But again, it doesn’t bother me too much, just things I noticed. He becomes love interest #1. Chaol, is the captain of the Kings guard and basically trains Calaena for the test to become the King’s Champion. I like him a lot more than Dorian and he becomes love interest #2.