In fact, one of my few regrets (although I completely understand, because these books can only be so long and she's just not part of the plot that much) is that we get to see so little of her. Eliannia helps them marry, and recognizes Nettle and Riddle's unborn child and thinks it will be a girl. Fitz in the meantime is told by Chade, Dutiful and Nettle that they have figured out where Bee and Shine are. Can Fitz bear to take up the tools of his old trade again, even to avenge his dearest friend and save his child?

This is a change from the more impetuous young Fitz we knew in the earlier books (and slightly frustrating for the reader) but at the same time, the slow pace didn’t bother me and I was never bored. This entire buildup made the second half of this book land so extremely well for me with (dare I say) fast-paced action, character-defining moments, shocking and exciting character appearances, and series-defining lore drops. While waiting for the next revelation, this storyline offers some deeply satisfying results that will make fans like me swoon. But we finally got the much needed connection between those stories, and this one, and it was a wonderful way to bring them all together.

She wants to claim the child for her Motherhouse, and does so publicly on the last day of Winterfest, recognizes Nettle as Fitz's daughter. An interesting turn in this book is that it ties together the Fitz and Fool books with Bingtown and the Rain Wilds. I waited even longer to begin Fool's Quest, mainly because I struggled so with the pace of Fool's Assassin.

I just fully enjoyed this story and have been rather sad since finishing it up because I know it means that I don't have any more Realm of the Elderlings books to read now (a pretty sad thing) and I will have to eagerly await the next book in the series with all of my buddy reading friends who are also sad about having to wait.

All that's left is either going on a suicide run with the blinded and broken Fool against a whole powerful kingdom by himself, or settling in with his old friends who love him like the hero that he is, trying to enfold him back into their graces despite his deep reluctance. I just rapidly skimmed through your review since I’ve only read the very first instalment, with the second standing patiently in line.