Castle of Lies ~ Kiersi Burkhart
Carolrhoda Lab
ISBN: 9781512429978
Source: Netgalley
Backstabbing, plotting, sword wielding, and magic abound in Castle of Lies, Kiersi Burkhart’s forthcoming Young Adult fantasy adventure. Told through four points of view, the story is a race against time that gracefully weaves in elements of acceptance, understanding, and empathy.
It took me a little bit to get into this story (I’ll explain why in a minute) but the ride was definitely worth the rocky start.
The start of the book is a little disjointed. The story flips through slightly too many points of view, though that’s only really a problem in the beginning. By the end, the flipping back and forth creates a far more well-rounded story.
The other downside, for me, was that most of the characters were fairly unlikable. The four main story tellers had my heart but everyone else was pretty horrible. I suppose, in a sense, that made cheering for the protagonists that much more likely.
All of that said, the positives, outweighed the negatives. There was a strong theme of forgiveness on a larger scale. Yes, there was some personal amend making but the element that captured my heart sat squarely in macro redemption. In a moments when we are so completely incapacitated by large swaths of Hate for entire populations, Burkhart’s ability to see goodness in our “enemies” warmed my little soul.
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