Good continuation but otaku for maid cafes is gonna be a nuisance in the future

This book has sat on my shelf who knows how long and I finally gave it a a chance. It was amazing. I loved the world building and the magic system (a deck of cards that any can use to have magic, or an infection that gives you powers). It played heavy on the all magic has a cost theme and our main character Elspeth took a while to figure out the cost of hers. The romance is slow burn for the most part but once they’re courting it’s steady. Spoiler ⚠️ The monster being the Shepard King although predictable is a great premise. Allowing him a chance of not only revenge against usurping of his kingdom but also a chance to help the people still in his kingdom. The ending what happens with Elspeth deteriorating, the promise she made him make 🥲

Gaiman retells Norse mythology into easy to read mini stories. He consulted the Pride Edda and Poetic Edda incorporating both into his retelling; stories that appear in both but differently became hybrids, taking aspects of both and joining them with story telling. If you know very little about Norse mythology this is a great starting point and if you know a little, this book will peak your interest just to see what Gaiman includes in his version.

I love the arena being eye shaped like big brother is always watching and the district 12 tributes had great chemistry and friendship. But other tributes there were too many and too forgetting and killed too early. The Lou Lou subplot was cool with a body double being monitored or lead by Snow and trying to find out who she was before the brainwashing The Snow food poisoning scene where Haymitch chugs the milk 😂 amazing. With everything being centred around poison made Lenore’s death predictable and from the other books I knew his mum and brother would dye as well. Just generally knowing how the world is in the future took away a lot of tension. But overall I really enjoyed reading this and now I have tickets for the live show in November.