The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

A company of soldiers on a difficult mission. A priestess held hostage by her position. A man trying to save an empire by eliminating the emperor. The writing is fine, albeit somewhat overly flowery at times (for my taste), and I didn’t appreciate the fantasy language passages. If they are translated immediately, why not skip that step please? I’m being peevish, I know, but it was annoying every time. The characters are plentiful, and range from interesting to vapidly dull. Sadly, the author has yet to kill off any of the more tedious ones. Some aspects of the world-building were intriguing, and I liked the clear existence of queer relationships. All in all, not the particular flavour of grimdark that appeals to me, and I didn’t find this terribly engaging to be honest. I’ll probably try the sequel though. ★★★☆☆