Melody Murray's Books

August 2011-*re-read in preparation for #9*The third time through this was a little less engrossing than the first two. I still stayed up till 3 reading it, but I was not so enamored with the protagonist. She's more of a Mary Sue than I realized- everyone falls in love with her, she has insights into war that fail to occur to hardened generals, she rises to every situation magnificently, in short, she's annoyingly perfect. August 2010- *re-read as refresher for #8* stetJuly 2009-I'm torn about how to rate this one. It was a solid adventure story, and the protagonist grew in ways I liked to see. The invented land (loosely China) was a little less satisfying, and the dragon, although delightful, was less fleshed out than I wanted him to be. I loved the fact that it was set many years beyond the other 6 Kushiel books. Phédre and her cohorts have become the stuff of legend, which was great fun. I will be back for the next installment in Moirin's story, but the first three books, the ones starring Phédre, remain my favorites by a long shot.