Kelly A. Harmon

A Truly Enjoyable Read That You'll Want to Finish In One Sitting:

When Queen Piacenza's nurse reads the bones, they tell her only one thing: "A girl child must rule or the kingdom will fall to ruin." But Queen Piacenza's husband King Theodicar finds such a thing completely unacceptable - and the kingdom in question is his. When Piacenza's child is finally born, Theodicar must make a decision that will affect his kingdom for decades to come.

Kelly Harmon has written a story with richly-drawn characters who are neither good nor evil, but completely human. With careful attention to detail, she brings to life the country of Borgund through its economy, the choices of its rulers and the careful dance of politics between Borgund and her neighbors. The end result: "Blood Soup" is a delicious mix of political intrigue, magic, dark personal secrets and deep emotion that's so good you'll want seconds.… (altro)

I don't know if Blood Soup just wasn't my type of book, but I really wasn't into it and glad it was a short read. I must have misread the synopsis because it wasn't what I expected in the slightest (I more expected a woman overthrowing a thrown with some action, since that's what the cover implies as well). In my opinion, it was just overly feminist with the main male characters having the personalities of complete and utter turds -- including the main "bad guy" practically announcing that women are just punching bags while beating his pregnant wife. Although it was visually well-written, it skipped too much and the ending was too sudden and would leave most readers bewildered because of the lack of resolution.… (altro)