Book Review ~ Kushiel's Chosen

Kushiel's Chosen (Kushiel's Legacy #2)
by Jacqueline Carey
published by Tor
genre: Adult, Fantasy

Summary (full @Goodreads)Mighty Kushiel, of rod and weal
Late of the brazen portals
With blood-tipp'd dart a wound unhealed
Pricks the eyen of chosen mortals

...The hands of the gods weigh heavily upon Phèdre's brow, and they are not finished with her. While the young queen who sits upon the throne is well loved by the people, there are those who believe another should wear the crown... and those who escaped the wrath of the mighty are not yet done with their schemes for power and revenge.

My Thoughts: It took some time for me to get into this one. While I don't object to sex in books, it needs to serve a purpose. I felt the first part of the book, when Phedre and crew return to the city, was without purpose. Delauney had a reason behind each patron taken in the first book. In this book it seemed like Phedre was hoping to stumble upon a reason as she was with the patron rather than having a reason beforehand. I found it mostly uninteresting.  It did, in part, help create some of the tension between Phedre and Jocelin. 

The Yeshuites and their journey/prophecy served a purpose later in the story but again not something I was interested in.

Once the group was on the road and the real journey began I became more invested in the book. It had everything you could want in an epic fantasy adventure. I will say the pirates were probably my favorite in this story. 

Overall there was more I liked than disliked in this book. Phedre once again proved that if there trouble to be found she will be in the middle of it and Jocelin will be beside her trying to save the day. I am torn on the ending. I'm over Melisande and was really hoping that someone would just kill her already. No matter what the author tells us, I don't find her to be this great game player that everyone fears. The fact that she is sitting in plush surroundings claiming sanctuary means she will be back. I just want the story to move forward but it seems stuck as long as she is around.

Rating: 4