REVIEW FOR THE HANGED MAN BY K.D. EDWARDS
I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review (but i also have it pre-ordered like, twice, so you can really honestly believe me when i tell you i love this freaking book).
PSA: if you havenāt read The Last Sun yet, donāt read this because there are minor spoilers kind of for the first book. There are also minor spoilers for The Hanged Man too.
Once every so often there comes a moment when something enters your life and takes you on a path you never could have imagined. One day in January last year I listened to The Last Sun on a whim, because it looked cool, it had good reviews and a talented narrator. I had no way of knowing that a year later iād be taking part in a street team quest dedicated to promoting it. I didnāt know all the cool people Iād meet, all the art weād produce as a team, as a fandom on the whole. Iāve been in a lot of fandoms in my life, and created a lot of content, but i have never been as enthralled and caught by a book series as i have this one. I wonāt talk more about the street team, as tempting as it is, but if you want to learn more check out KDās twitter, itās full of great things!
The Hanged Man is a revelation. There is so much world building going on, so much detail added to an already detail rich world, that I know iām going to have to read it a few times (which, hey, works out! I will have like four copies by the end of this haha). The additional information we got about the sun court, about the companion bond, about the other Arcanasā¦ I canāt even put into words. There are things that happen in this book that I kind of assumed would happen but like, four books down the line, and they were done so well too, so smoothly that even though I didnāt expect them, I didnāt question them, but iām not going to spoil anything within this review because this book is a book you have to experience yourself. Trust me.
The action and fight scenes are some of the most well written, fast paced, heart pounding action scenes Iāve ever read. Ever time a fight came up or a chase occurred I was absolutely glued to the page. This was present in The Last Sun as well and itās one of my favourite aspects of the series as a whole. As with The Last Sun though, despite the action scenes trying to steal the show, itās the relationships and the characters in The Hanged Man that are a major driving force and the central reason as to why it shines so brightly.
Rune and Brand will always have a major share holder place in my heart, but there is an entire cast now vying for positions. Quinn and Max continue to be so freaking adorable and brave and smart that I could cry. Quinnās character arc in this book especially is so so good? Addam is just?? Such a pure soul? Such a kind person? I cannot get over how heās a real character that we get to enjoy and treasure. Lord Tower is. Well. You guys know how he is but he has some moments in this book that made me a lot less suspicious of him and a lot MORE suspicious of him at the same time. He is a conundrum but i love him. Mayan got more of a role too, and I loved every part of it! Queenie is still in the background a little and Iām convinced she has secrets!!!! If she does, I canāt wait to see what they are. I loved Lady Death!! I hope sheās sticking around she is super cool and almost exactly what I was hoping her to be.
Also, the introduction of Anna, Corbie and Layne was so well done! I wonāt say much here for fear of spoilers bc there are some BIG ones but I canāt wait to see how things in that area progress.
But talking of Rune and Brandā¦ oh my god. I will never get over their bond. Never. Itās impossible. Theyāre?? Everything?? There were moments in this book when they made me laugh and moments when they made me cry and moments where I wanted to scream. I still ship it to high heavens. Friends to lovers trope is like, the best invention ever, and Iām holding out for some lovely polyamory because iāve long believed that the best way to end a love triangle is to involve everyone! More people more fun amiright??? (can u tell its 1:15am dear lord) but whether or not anything will come of that only time will tell. Either way, romantic or platonic, nothing will rival their love for each other and that is the foundation of this series. The most solid, well built foundation ever. Ā
Rune is just. So powerful. And so wonderful. His progression through two books alone is awe inspiring, i canāt even think about where weāre going to be another three or four books down the line. I love how powerful and confident he is, I love that he knows his strength, that he knows when to play certain trump cards. KD knows how to do character development, heās shown this time and time again, and oh my god I cannot wait to see what Rune becomes.
So, where do we stand. Sometimes you read a book and you donāt worry about the characters because you know theyāll be fine, but i am constantly worrying about everyone, because the writing feels like itās real, like youāre living it, like youāre watching people you care about face off against such high odds. I have my theories about where aspects of this series will go but I also very much doubt whether any of them are correct, because KD is playing the long game and I am but a lowly sleep deprived reader, but i am so so excited to go on this journey. I canāt wait to see where it takes us. I could prattle on for another five hundred paragraphs about how much i loved this book, but i think iāve said all that needed saying, so iāll leave it at this. Read this book, folks, you wonāt regret it.
titsay
ellievsbear
germansingergirl
tangentwithtanner
turnnoffyourmind
gamechangershow
