loving fitz is probably the hardest, most turmoil-filled competition ever, but i'm still winning at it.
(triggers at the end)

when i tell you i read those 100 last pages with either: tears in my eyes, tears streaming down my face, or full out bawling, i would not be lying. the way i was hooked from the first page, and usually sequels take quite a bit to stir me so dramatically, but this one offered intrigue, stakes being heightened, shocks and twists i hadn't expected, and just that gut-wrenching feeling of caring too much for these characters like in the first one.

the strong suit in these books are characters, and how much you're skilled (haha,,, hah) to love and care for them, but that's shown deepest with the main character. stop, i love fitz so much, there is no reason for him to go through the shit he's put through, but he somehow gets past it. either with his sheer will or with the people he cares about, it's always a close call.

his relationships and interactions spur this book onward; him and burrich and him and the fool are most likely my favourites, for very different reasons. and jesus fucking christ, the one scene near the end with burrich, it broke my heart- idc what anyone says, burrich is his father, through and through, and it broke me into small bits.

i'm incoherent, and i really wish i had my loan for the last book right this second, because it's CHUNKY and i'll need the audiobook for that, but wow... imma need this trilogy to end happily after the shit i was put through.

trigger warnings for
torture, violence, gore, descriptions of dead bodies, starvation, death of a loved one, grief, body gore, extreme bodily injury (on-page), speak of a miscarriage