I love Sharon Shinn, I have read nearly all of her books and the remainder are on my upcoming reads list. She is so good at building a world that is believable, with all the good and bad that comes in a society. Her characters are just as believable, I end up loving the majority of her characters even with their many flaws. This is the fifth book in her Elemental Blessings series, and I've been not so patiently waiting for it. Warning: this has a small amount of violence, as well as allusions to inappropriate relationships with minors.
This story follows Valentina "Val" Serlast. She's still reeling from the death of her mother, although she would tell you that she's handling it fine. To make matters worse, her brother has just been made King and she needs to attend the coronation. We get to follow her as she reintroduces herself to the city and to her family, and as she realizes new parts of herself. Something that she didn't think was possible for someone whose personality has remained largely unchanged since she was a child.
I love this story. I found all of the characters to be incredibly likeable, although I have a special fondness for Sebastian. Val starts off stubborn and unwilling to change or compromise, but by the end she realizes that some trees are meant to live their entire lives in one place while others are meant to be made into a dinner table and travel the world. That comes off more elegant in the book, but you get the general drift. I really ended up loving Val and her journey through grief and acceptance of others and finding herself. It was easy to lose myself in the story and watch Val grow. I'm giving Whispering Wood by Sharon Shinn 4.75 stars out of 5!
Find more from Sharon Shinn at http://sharonshinn.net/
Pairs well with a long walk and stuffed milkweed pods, a dish that reminds me of something Val eats in the book and surprisingly likes.
If you need a quick refresher on the four previous books in the series, check out our series summary here.
Comments