The much anticipated sequel to Royal Bastards is almost here! I absolutely loved this follow up and fans of Shvarts's  series opener will love this one too. It's got romance! It's got action! It's got intrigue! And it gave me so many damn feels! 

It is pretty evident throughout that  Shvarts is a Star Wars fan, as City of Bastards shares many of the same themes and elements throughout it's thoroughly fun ride. It is hard to say more about the sequel without spoiling too much, but it is safe to say that A) nothing is ever black and white, and B) to quote Luke Skywalker "This is not going  to go the way you think." Intrepid heroine/anti-heroine Tilla the bastard is back, with friends Zell and Lyriana by her side, and for their herculean deeds in the first book, they are given spots at the prestigious Lightspire University. As all three still suffer the effects of the dark endings of their friends in the previous books, they are soon swept along another wild ride. 

Shvarts manages to bring everything you could want to this book, and more, while remaining loyal to the characters and their natural progressions. I think fans will be thoroughly satisfied with this sequel.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I remember reading Royal Bastards and not wanting to put the book down. The same can be said for City of Bastards. I love the emotional depth and character development that Shvarts puts into the main characters. Nothing is black and white, no one is simply good or simply evil, actions have emotional motivations and repercussions. Tilla, Zell, Lyriana, and Ellarion are all far from perfect and while in some instances they may fall into the typical YA tropes, other times, they're much more nuanced than that.

I absolutely enjoyed the progression of the story and turns that I didn't particularly expect. I'm sad to know that book 3 might be the last one, but I'm eagerly waiting.

I was actually quite disappointed by this book, since I loved the first one and had high expectations for this one. However, I felt that there was too much going on and this book seemed to be all over the place for my liking. Also, there was a very problematic scene at the beginning of the book, which is described below:

There is a scene about 18% into the book in which the main character witnesses 3 guys chasing a topless girl at a party in which people have been drinking. Given what we know about the propensity of rape on college campuses, and that this book is portraying the school as a typical college campus, this scene is disturbing to say the least. Three (probably drunk) men chasing a half naked (probably drunk) woman is concerning, and the fact that the main character dismisses this, and that the author dismisses this in how he describes the situation in his writing, is problematic and trivializes rape culture. I do not know if the author intended this scene to be a foreshadowing of rape, and I am not assuming he did- but the fact that he did not, or at least did not expand on this further, actually demonstrates that he is either unaware of the trauma many college aged women go through, or that he is indifferent to it. Either case is problematic.

There are also things about this book that did not really make sense. For instance, why would Tilla (a ward of the king) be sharing a room with one of the wealthiest girls in town? It seems that neither of these girls would need to have roommates, so it was odd that they would share a room in the first place.

It also seemed that the author was trying to merge modern lifestyle with the fantasy realm, blending typical college life with this magical land. However, these two things did not quite fit in my opinion. It seemed too forced, and I'm not sure if there is a way to make this goal more seamless.

Regarding the use of magic- I would believe that if someone has been banned from using magic upon punishment of death, there would be precautions put in place to make sure that magic is not used by this person. However, Lyrianna uses magic left and right with no consequences, which seemed unrealistic to me.

I did enjoy watching Ellarion's character unfold more, as he seemed a very interesting character, and I am looking forward to learning what happens next in his story.

I also enjoyed Tilla's voice, as I did in the past book. I find her POV enjoyable.

The sequel to Royal Bastards. Great characters and fast-paced action that moved the story along well (and more than a few surprises). .