4.5 stars! When I was about to begin this book, I was very hesitant because Froi in Finnikin of the Rock is a moral-less creature whose words are crudely spoken as he learns the language. He was probably one of the characters I hated most in the first book, and his brief point of view didn't change my mind at all. So, needless to say, I was surprisingly refreshed when, at the beginning of Froi of the Exiles, he was actually a beloved part of the Queens Guard and the King and Queen themselves. He got educated in the three years that have passed, and he also became one of Lumatere's trained assassins and torture fiend. Hm. I guess all of that anger and horrible childhood experience had to be directed somewhere. Anyway, Marchetta is not my favorite writer, but she keeps things so interesting. The princess of the story isn't beautiful at all and it's actually hard to like her at times, and Froi doesn't take one look at her and fall in love. Far from it, in fact. Not to mention that she'll throw you plot twist after plot twist and she'll only give you like an inch of material to try to figure out what's really going on in the story. Ugh. It was a good one, and I am so so so worried for the next book. Ugh. Also, STUPID CLIFFHANGERS. Ahh.