Everafter Song by Emily King

I end yet another Emily King series mildly disappointed. The world development was so much more in this series then "The Hundredth Queen" with their fairy tale whimsy reminiscent of Disney yet gritty brutality reminiscent of Grimm Brothers. 

Each of the seven worlds had its own distinct identity that was lovingly crafted. The giant's world was our introduction to modern society. I thought it brilliant to make the only industrialized world be one that required the scale for giants. I'm was saddened that we didn't get to spend time on all the plains, though. 

As much as I appreciated King's growth in world building, I just wish I could say the same for the development of the characters.

Everley is too busy with her crusade to crush the demons of her past at the expense of her future to recognize her present. She isn't living despite the great blessing her clockwork heart has given her. Her constant battle with time feels incredibly real, but somehow lacked a fluidity that really made me connect with the character. I mostly ended up angry or frustrated. 

I'm just going to ignore her relationship with Lieutenant Callahan because my biggest frustration was Laverick and Claret.

The Fox and the Cat ended up providing no meaningful plot development, which ended up being the same for Captain Asmer. They could have never been written and the book would be the same. Frustrating! Either fully develop their story in relation to the plot or just leave them on the cutting room floor, don't just put them in there as a footnote to meet some quota. 

Actually, most of the characters just felt as if they were added based on some kind of checklist to make sure the character types were all accounted for. Disappointing.