Froi of the Exiles: The Lumatere Chronicles (original 2011; edition 2012)

Melina Marchetta... Really? Seriously? That's how you're going to end the book? Are you trying to get yourself killed???? *GAAAAHHHH*

I was a bit worried that this book was going to be too long. It's 200 pages longer than the first book, after all! But GEEEEEESH, it's jam-packed full of stuff! There IS a lot of travelling around, but that was all done pretty quickly.

The characters... WOW! At first, I was like, "What the crazy?? These people are all cuckoo-bananas!" But they REALLY grow on you! I'm DYING to know what's going to happen to them!

Notes for myself so I'll remember all the crazy stuff that happened and be prepared for book 3: Froi is in the mountains of Sebastabol (Charyn), recovering from a whole bunch of arrow wounds, being tended by his uncle, Arjuro. Quintana is WHO KNOWS where in Charyn, pregnant, and HOPEFULLY alone and not with Bestiano. Phaedra of Alonso (Lucian's Charyn wife) has apparently faked her death, along with a bunch of the girls living in the valley between Charyn and Lumatere. Beatriss and Trevanion got remarried. YAY! Finnikin and Isaboe (who is preggers with her second baby), don't have all the information, and are planning to go into Charyn to find Froi... and think killing Gargarin (Froi's father!!) is on the menu. EEK! CRAZY TOWN!!!

Anyway, AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait for the third!!! ( )

Once upon a time...

I never would have thought a book could have me sobbing my heart out at four in the morning.
And then [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] wrote [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100].
I never would have thought I'd like traditional fantasy novels.
And then [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] wrote [b:Finnikin of the Rock|4932435|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227961623s/4932435.jpg|4998084].
I never would have thought characters could get any better than Finnikin and Isaboe.
And then [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] wrote [b:Froi of the Exiles|10165727|Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles, #2)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306866851s/10165727.jpg|15064442].

I think that if Ms Marchetta were to ever write a bad novel, the earth would simply slip off its axis and the universe would implode because the natural order of things would have gone completely askew. Every time I stop and think "THIS IS IT. This is the pinnacle of literary perfection and books just don't get any better than this", Marchetta goes right ahead and releases the proof that I was wrong.

This book is just so much better than [b:Finnikin of the Rock|4932435|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227961623s/4932435.jpg|4998084], and that sounds like I'm insulting the prequel - I'm not. I honestly loved everything about the story of Finnikin and Isaboe, I thought it was a fantastic beginning to this series, both well-written and pulse-pounding. But Froi is just more of what I like to read about. Finnikin is a nicer character than Froi, he had many sides and was interesting to follow through his adventures (because Ms Marchetta does not create poor characters), but it was exactly the complications of Froi's character - the battle to control his temper, the struggle to part with the horrors of his past - that made me love him so much more.

And Quintana! Oh Quintana, how I'm looking forward to getting more acquainted with you in the next book. I'm not going to spoil this wonderful character for anyone who is yet to read [b:Froi of the Exiles|10165727|Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles, #2)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306866851s/10165727.jpg|15064442], but she is fantastic and weird and I can't wait for [b:Quintana of Charyn|10165761|Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles, #3)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331187719s/10165761.jpg|15064476]!!!!

I love how so many characters came into this book and I can remember very clearly the personalities of them all. None were wasted and everyone who was introduced had their part to play that was key to the overall story, not a single one will easily be forgotten. Like [b:The Queen of Attolia|40158|The Queen of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #2)|Megan Whalen Turner|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293505506s/40158.jpg|1124161] was just so much more than [b:The Thief|448873|The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1)|Megan Whalen Turner|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298543325s/448873.jpg|1069505], I felt that [b:Froi of the Exiles|10165727|Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles, #2)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306866851s/10165727.jpg|15064442] was so much more of everything that made [b:Finnikin of the Rock|4932435|Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1)|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227961623s/4932435.jpg|4998084] amazing. It was more exciting, faster-paced, funnier, nastier... even sexier. I got hot flushes at the mention of Froi's "wicked tongue"!

I don't really think anyone can say anything else about [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg]. I tend to mention her in most of my reviews because I find her talent for story-telling and creating a variety of complex characters just incredible. She astounds me. How else can I make you Marchetta virgins pick up her work? Let me know and I'll write it in my next review! I hope I've managed to do Froi some justice with this review and that it wasn't just a mess of adoring mushiness. But then, how do you review a perfect book? This is my crappy attempt.
( )

Queen Isaboe and her consort, Finnikin, are establishing themselves in Lumatere, while the former exiles and those left behind pick up the pieces of their lives. The kingdom of Charyn, who invaded them, is still a great threat though it is under a great curse: ever since the birth of the Princess Quintana, no one has been able to have a child. Quintana herself has prophesied that the "last shall birth the first," which resulted in all last borns being marked and watched; however, no one knows if this is a true prophesy or the ravings of a madwoman. Froi, one of the exiles returned with Finnikin and Isaboe, is commissioned to assassinate the king of Charyn, still a threat to Lumatere.

"Finnikin" was Melina Marchetta's first fantasy book, and - though I liked the story - it showed. Froi of the Exiles still has a lot of tropes and some predictable plot directions, but I liked Froi's complex character and found this to be a much smoother read overall. Of course, that could be partially my bad memory talking too, as I found the beginning an exercise in reacquainting myself with the characters and their situations because I'd forgotten so much about the first book. I enjoyed the continued world-building, the pacing of the story, the characters of Froi and Quintana and the Lumaterans - such as Lucian - that we revisit and see in a new light. Fans of Graceling will find much to enjoy in this trilogy. ( )

From my best of 2012 list (http://tatalonline.blogspot.com/2012/12/our-top-10-in-2012-katie-goes-to-head.ht...):

I still can’t find the words to sum up this book--it’s too epic, too sprawling, too brilliant, too awesome. The Lumatere Chronicles are quite simply the sort of books that you’ll want to return to again and again and again, because somehow in the midst of unspeakable darkness and suffering they reveal the best in humanity. Froi maybe embodies this better than any other character in the series. This is a standout.

I liked Finnikin of the Rock, but I didn't love it. But because I'm a huge fan of Marchetta's writing, I picked up Froi and actually liked it quite a bit more than Finnikin. I liked Froi as a character, I liked his inner struggles and I liked that in a vague sort of way, it reminded me of Cashore's Seven Kingdoms trilogy. There was a lot of darkness and angst throughout Froi, which was okay as well. I do hope that she writes more in this series, though. I find myself liking the characters more as each book goes on. ( )