In the eleventh chapter of The Will of the Empress<\/i>, Berenene surprises Landreg Castle with a visit, and Sandry learns just how complicated her life will be. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Will of the Empress<\/i>.<\/p>\n
You know, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like with each new chapter, Tamora Pierce comes up with a way to complicate this further, assuring that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll feel more and more tension. This is a slow-burn thriller that is going to lead to some inevitable showdown between the Circle of Friendship and Berenene, right? Like, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where this is going? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m scared. SCARED.<\/p>\n
Ishabel<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finally crystal clear to me: Empress Berenene is so used to getting her way by offering fame, power, and money that she cannot fathom someone not<\/i> being interested in those things. As I was reading the opening section of this chapter, it struck me that she fundamentally did not understand what appeals to Sandry. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lacking in astuteness or cunning, so how could Berenene miss the mark so quickly?<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Staying abed while Sandry goes riding with a tiny escort \u00e2\u20ac\u201c really! I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care if they had caught pneumonia, the girl will never be convinced of their devotion if they are not constantly at her side. They would have looked so brave, shaking their swords at fer Holm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Well, not to Sandry. Sandry has no interest in masculine displays of courage at all<\/i>. Her disinterest in Jak and Fin has nothing to do with their devotion. Hell, as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see later in the chapter, their devotion is precisely what irritates her! She also isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t eager for imperial entertainment, nor is she uninterested in joining with her foster-siblings. Berenene doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that two of the connections have been reformed, which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fair enough, how would<\/i> you know that? Still, the woman both underestimates these people and barges on, certain that her will is all that she needs. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ishabel who knows that she cannot think lowly of the four foster-siblings. She takes their prodigies seriously. Which is good because they should be respected! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also bad because WHAT IF ISHABEL DOES WHATEVER BERENENE WANTS TO TAKE THEM DOWN. Which will probably happen. SIGH.<\/p>\n Sandry<\/b><\/p>\n Oh lord, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so pleased that Sandry and Daja are casually using the magical connection between one another to communicate again. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO LOVELY. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also necessary<\/i> at this point. As the foster siblings get further and further into this court\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s culture, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re realizing that they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak openly and honestly as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re used to. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that through sheer desperation, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to start using their connection more often, like how Daja notifies Sandry of Berenene\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrival here. With so much deception and entendre and layered meanings and such, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to need to find a way to speak to one another.<\/p>\n Regardless, Sandry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sections of this chapter highlight the anxiety and stress she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s currently under. As I said at the beginning of this, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like some new wrinkle of awfulness is added to this predicament constantly<\/i>. Here? There are numerous of them! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sandry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with Gudruny, where Gudruny points out that Berenene is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one of those who cannot believe that not everyone has her strength of mind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Then, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s everything Sandry learns from Shan. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unfortunate that they can never be anything more than friends because they get along so well. But hey, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing wrong with friendship! Platonic, non-romantic friendship is A FORCE FOR ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD.<\/p>\n Still, this book is about Berenene\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempts to control Sandry. Early in this chapter, we hear her refer to Sandry as her property<\/i>, and from what we can gleam from Shan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that Jak and Fin were sent after Sandry because the empress could still control them even after<\/i> a marriage<\/i>. I have no problem viewing Berenene as this book\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s antagonist anymore because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, shit! She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so disturbing. The way she views people is so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 inhuman! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best word I can come up with. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all pawns to better herself and her wealth and power. That means that any men sent after Sandry are merely pawns of the empress anyway<\/i>. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no love or romance in these prospects; just the promise of a life of courtly servitude to a woman who does not respect personal autonomy.<\/p>\n Daja<\/b><\/p>\n Oh my god, THIS IS SO AGONIZING. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not infuriating, though, because Daja\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing attraction to Rizu isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a tease. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s real. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S EVERYTHING. I love so much how this is described, though. Daja\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attraction is like a burst of electricity through her body. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a physical<\/i> thing, one she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore. But she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also not entirely understanding what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening to her. At one point, she even wonders if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153coming down with some sickness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because she hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come to terms with her sexuality. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like Pierce is leading to a bait-and-switch, though; this feels genuine. AND I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T WAIT FOR IT TO FURTHER DEVELOP.<\/p>\n Tris \/ Briar \/ Zhegorz<\/b><\/p>\n Look, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m taking it as a personal inspiration to be able to read a book where an author deftly switches between up to six different perspectives in a single narrative. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so smooth<\/i>! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just thankful that while this might be a Sandry book, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still heavy on the other three foster-siblings and their stories. Here, Tris opens up her connection to Briar, if briefly, because of books<\/i>. BOOKS. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not emotional, you<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re<\/i> emotional. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting to me to see who reaches out to who first. Sandry and Daja were able to open themselves up first, which makes sense, given how close they always were. Tris and Briar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s connection is timeless because Tris taught him a skill he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always cherish, you know?<\/p>\n Anyway, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that maybe Tris and Briar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s newly forged connected, even if it was a very small, brief thing, will help them deal with Zhegorz. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so sad to know that he was abandoned and ignored for over thirty years; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of damage to undo. And somehow, Tris and Briar have to help him work through this while also dealing with all their imperial duties. How? What if Berenene discovers what Zhegorz is able to do and takes him away from them? I know that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of Zhegorz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fears, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not all that unreasonable. Perhaps Briar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flirtations will keep Berenene away. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, I am totally grasping at straws here, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW HOW THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE GOING TO PULL THIS OFF.<\/p>\n The original text contains use of the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stupid.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n vid<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>. In the eleventh chapter of The Will of the Empress, Berenene surprises Landreg Castle with a visit, and Sandry learns just how complicated her life will be. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Will of the Empress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[477,502,503],"tags":[482,250],"class_list":["post-3553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emelan","category-the-circle-reforged","category-will-of-the-empress","tag-mark-reads-emelan","tag-tamora-pierce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S. this summer and fall Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"