Hey Y'all, spoilers ahead <3
Well, here we are again. Two weeks and ten chapters later, we're basically in the same spot as far as plot is concerned. Actually, I'd say we've taken a step backward in narrative, actually, since we now have even more side-plots in place with the addition of the expanding army and all the mages losing their ability to make tea at just the right temperature. I'm not saying that side-plots are bad, but you have to have main plot progression in order for them to work. We have seemingly huge pieces of the plot being retired after so much emphasis was placed on them, such as the fact that Rashta was a slave or the fact that she finished a 9-month body-building challenge at some point in the past. All the characters (save for maybe some of the background characters) take this in stride, and move on to the next piece in their own strategy. This should be a huge plot point and the key to some major scandal, but noooope. The entire cast is like "ah yes, I see, interesting", when this single bit of info about her being a slave and having a child is the emperor's single greatest weakness.
Speaking of strategies and those that employ them, did you know that characters that are cunning and sly can have more traits than just their cunning and slyitude? I didn't. And apparently neither did the author. I swear, every time we interact with Navier or the emperor (I seriously cannot be bothered to even remember his name), they're always scheming, always thinking about their plans or their status or some other aspect of the power structure in the palace. I don't mean to imply that we should have a whole dang cooking chapter or a spinoff series about the main characters in high school, but y'know, at least we would get some character development past just their incessant scheming, strategizing, and incessant need to make their motivations known in thought bubbles. And they're not even good strategies, either. Take the viscount for example. This author wants me to believe someone can be cunning enough to con his way into a mansion in the capital, but at the same time is dumb enough not to have any contingencies or backup plans, even when he's dealing with the friggin EMPEROR? Like, what was the endgame there? Or howsabout the emperor himself, plotting to divorce and then remarry the empress, without the foresight to understand what effect that could have on his reign, both internally and externally. You have a concubine with a mortal secret that must be kept, and you're about to banish someone who knows said secret to another (potentially unfriendly) country, and that someone is probably willing to just hand over that info to the highest bidder just to spite you. How short-sighted are these characters?
Y'know, one of my favorite quotes is by someone who disliked the BBC series Sherlock, and was explaining why. They said "[Sherlock] is what happens when dumb people try to write smart characters." I like that quote. I think that quote fits here quite well, since entire cast is a group of cunning court strategists, each vying for their positions of power, but simultaneously they're all high school students who didn't have the foresight to study for their midterms, and those midterms could execute you. It has the potential to be a brilliant court drama, with conniving and backstabbing and courtship (oh my!), but it doesn't have enough character development or plot progression to keep the reader engaged with the story. Another reason it can't be that kind of story, though, is because that's... not what we were promised. I want my damn heroin being swept off her feet by the dashing king of a neighboring kingdom, thereby escaping the ridicule and harassment of her husband and court. That's what I was promised in chapter one. That one scene was supposed to set the tone for the entire story, but this story is not meeting the expectations it set for itself at that point.
Ugh, I've devolved into incessant rambling at this point, but that's just what this story does to me. I love to hate it, but I would love it more if it got it's act together. I'm scared that this is gonna be one of those "it gets good after the first season" kind of things, but that's kind of what this is smelling like. Smells stale.
Anyways, thanks for watching, be sure to tune in next week where I write one of these on drugs.