So now I've read three of The Queen's Thief series in a row. They are truly such wonderful little books, I can't say enough good things about them. The world building is excellent. The character building is better. It is fantasy that is not flowery, with just the right amount of grit. The writing is exactly my speed, simple, straightforward, and allows the reader to to figure things out for themselves. 
 I only gave this one four stars because it was much slower for me then the first two. The Thief is told from Gen in the first person, and while I absolutely loved it, and loved seeing Gen's thought process, I think given the number of secrets he holds back, it didn't quite work as first person POV because the reader is supposed to be seeing what Gen sees, and knowing what Gen thinks. The story wouldn't have been as entertaining if you knew the secrets right from the beginning, but it just didn't quite work when you get to the end and Gen finally reveals all. They were things the reader should have known because Gen had known. I was willing to overlook it in the first book because the rest of it was so wonderful. 
 The next books are written in third person and while you do lose some closeness with the character, I think it has more to do with the bouncing POVs then it does with being written in third. In this book, the story is told almost entirely from Costis's POV. And unfortunately, Costis just isn't as much fun as Gen. You still see the King of Attolia up to all his old tricks, but you almost never have any idea what he might be thinking or where the book is headed. You know he has some master plan up his sleeve, but you're given almost no insight as to what it might be. 
 There was action in this book but it was more about Gen and Costis's political navigation of the Attolian court than it was actual action which was why the book dragged a little. This is the story of Gen securing his seat as King in the Attolian court. Barons are thwarted, assassination attempts are failed, pranks are played, but there will be no kidnapping and no thieving. I'm a little disappointed to see the next book is Sophos's story, so I will probably hold off on reading it for now, but I will definitely continue with the series.