A Smart, Fast-Paced, and Passionate Novel: My Review of The King and the Criminal
Title: The King and the Criminal (The Heart of All Worlds series: Book Two)
Author: Charlotte Ashe (@charlotteashe)
Publisher: Interlude Press (@interludepress)
Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon
When I got the opportunity to review The King and the Criminal, I was nervous. The first book in the series, The Sidhe, meant so much to me. It was hard to imagine even the most capable sequel measuring up to my— rather unfair— anticipation.
This sequel lives up to the original and, beyond that, it builds on Ashe’s already dynamic world, to reveal characters and relationships I couldn’t have imagined as compelling in their own right. This is a smart, fast-paced, playful, and passionate book, that exists easily as its own adventure and, yet, left me begging for book number three. The novel is built on several intertwined narratives, all of which kept my interest and overlapped in ways that were both satisfying and unexpected. Here are a few of my favorite things:
The Revelations: The central romance takes place between two characters, Tash and Firae, that we already met in book one. Both already existed as complex characters, but I loved watching them emerge from the supporting-character shadows to earn the spotlight. By the middle of the novel, it felt as though I had gone on a journey with former acquaintances only to discover that they had become my friends. Tash has become my second favorite character in the entire series, and I did not see that one coming.
The Investment: At its best, fantasy and scifi are vitally important, not just because of their artistry, but also because they give readers a new perspective on our own social and political moment. As an author, Ashe has a gift for letting her stories and characters remain relevant without didacticism. Her art asks important questions about the nature of justice, fundamentalism, and entrenched communal fear. She puts our world up to a mirror without losing the narrative escapism we also love about fantasy. After all, who wouldn’t rather think about religious persecution in a story full of sexy elves?
Brissa: *insert heart-eyes gif* This one isn’t deep. I just really, really like this character. She’s funny, dynamic, badass, and thoroughly unique. If Tash was my second favorite character, Brissa wins the whole game. There’s a moment toward the end of the book (you’ll know it when you get there), when I actually cheered for her. Out loud. And yes, I was in public. She rocks and I can’t wait to see her again in book three.