Hector has been keeping a very big secret. It amazes me how much backstory and information these Fire and Thorns novellas have added to the trilogy, although they're certainly not a necessary read to enjoy it. We don't learn as much about Hector, himself, in this one (as opposed to Shadow Cats and The Shattered Mountain), but I now do know why he's so reticent. What's Hectors secret? You'll have to read it and see. This didn't have quite the punch of the previous story (The Shattered Mountain) but it was very interesting. I'm impressed with Rae Carson's ability to come up with shocking, fascinating backstory elements that are still invisible enough to the plot that it doesn't matter if you skip this story and only read the main novels. It's adding a lot of depth to the characters and their background, though, so if you have any interest in the series at all, I'd highly recommend reading the three novellas.I realized, AGAIN, while reading this story that Rae Carson's stories have a definite dark edge to them. There are things that occur in these stories that I know would just never, ever occur to me were I a writer; things too dark, twisted and just downright sad for me to ever want to spend any time thinking about. The worldbuilding is fantastic, and I really like the characters, but I could really go without these little bits. I have to read the books with a little bit of an emotional shield up because I never know what she is going to do to these characters. I think that is what keeps me from giving them five stars, because I can't totally immerse myself in the story for fear of bawling my eyes out. (Yeah, I'm one of THOSE people, the people that don't often enjoy stories that make me cry.)All that said... I love you, Hector!
What do You think about The King's Guard (2013)?
short read, but did add a lot of background info to the series.
—Rachel
A nice little story. Nice to see a young Hector.
—ClaudiaMendz
