Chie Shinohara

I had, until I began re-reading this series, forgotten what a prick Kail could be at times. Mind you he wasn't the worst offender ever, but its kind of shitty to threaten a girl with "bedding her for real" if she tries to run away (even if you're attempting to keep her idiotic neck safe).

Though to be fair Yuri wasn't much better. The scenes (in the first couple of books at least) went something like this:

Yuri: I must go do this stupid thing!
Kail: But its stupid! And will get you show more killed!
Yuri: It doesn't matter! I will get home no matter what!
Kail: If you would just WAIT a couple hours I will have it taken care of SAFELY.
Yuri: No! I will endanger everyone's life by running off and doing this stupid thing against the Queen who has plotted and schemed to murder me since chapter 1 because of reasons!
Kail: Stupid girl! She will kill you!
Yuri: It won't happen! :runs off to do stupid thing: Oh no! I did that stupid thing and got caught!
Queen: Stupid harlot! Now I shall do exactly what I've been threatening to do to you since the very first chapter. Only Kail could have saved you!
Yuri: Oh why didn't I listen to him? He never told me the danger! Kail! Kail! Save me!
Kail: :bursts in somehow to save her: I save you not because I'm going to say I told you so, though I will, but because I lo....er want to foil the Queen's plots!
Queen: Curses! Foiled again by my overly elaborate plotting!
Yuri: Now on to my next stupid stunt!

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

I'll admit she isn't USELESS, just BRAINLESS most of the time. She's a bit of a Mary Sue in that she falls into all sorts of predicaments and then untangles herself through luck, innate skill and men falling over themselves to help her. By volume 3 this mostly ends as she realizes she needs to be useful to Kail and to be useful she needs to know how to DO things like fight and such. But this first volume is mostly spent with her lamenting her fate, ignoring Kail's justifiably concerned admonishments and getting folk killed. show less

Omg so book 9 just became the most well used soap opera plot EVER.

Welcome to book 9 in which there is a secret baby born! That's right that age old trope of the secret pregnancy comes to light as Kail is confronted with an old lover who says her baby boy--conveniently named KAIL--is well Kail's son.

Mind you as with the Lannisters of GAME OF THRONES the blond hair ALWAYS wins out so let's all put our thinking caps on about who the father REALLY is. I'll tell you a secret he's already dead so show more that narrows it down quite a bit yes?

Also while Fake Ishtar was a conniving bitch before, Yuri's nature (and logic) won her over and she's her faithful pimpservant Ursula now. She's fun and Hadi an the twins like her. Also I'm pretty sure she just put Kash in his place.

Meanwhile poor Ilbani doesn't know what to do with any of them and just wants Kail to get laid... show less

Welcome to Book 21, which with just 7 volumes to go Yuri FINALLY figures out a way to escape ravishment. Guys it was a loooong time coming.

Still acting under the guise of marrying Ramses (and man do I love Nefert) Yuri pretty much acts like she does with Kail (just minus the touchy-feely stuff). I think Ramses figures out pretty quickly why Kail always seems so exasperated with Yuri. She incites a minor kerfuffle during some of Queen Nefertiti's priests chopping off a 5 year old's arm (yeah, show more them Egyptians...) which gives Nefertiti all the excuse she needs to arrest Ramses and have him tossed into a room to die horribly at her palace.

Shinohara you still haven't convinced that Nefertiti is a bad person by the way. GOOD TRY.

And Yuri, in typical fashion, wins the love of the common people (this time of Egypt!) to help rescue Ramses because let's face it. He needed rescuing. show less

Welcome to Volume 24 where I am deducting a star because HALF the book is taken up by Kail and Ramses being stupid and macho and neglecting their IMPORTANT duties. Like I don't know, the WAR THEY STARTED AND SHOULD MAYBE FINISH?

I love that everytime a leader is needed and Yuri is like 'Oh but where will we find one?!' and everyone looks at her and she looks at them and they look at her and she's all flustered and like 'No but wait! I can't!' Except Yuri we know you can because by this volume show more you've led more successful military campaigns, covert operations and hell rebellions then EVERY CHARACTER COMBINED. That includes Ilbani who is really close as your second.

Also I love that Kail realizes, before Ramses, that higher things are at stake and that Ramses realizes that THAT is what makes Kail a better man. Not his power, not his looks, not the fact Yuri loves him, or his physical strength and battle prowess--Kail realizes more keenly then almost anyone else in this series that emotions have a time and place. Yeah he got swept up for a while, but he didn't let it subsume him.

Also HA! Ramses is like 'well I can't have Yuri so my son will marry her daughter and look how great that will be!' (it actually turns out to be his grandson and her granddaughter, but hey doesn't matter). show less