Thumbs up for All the Paths of Shadow by Frank Tuttle. Fantasy.
The perfect book to read when I was home sick. Only after reading it I did I discover that it was marketed as a children’s book. That explains the lack of sex and swearing. It does seem a trifle long and leisurely for a kid’s book, but that was my opinion when I thought it was an adult book, too. Let us say, it is an utterly charming though not fast-paced court-intrigue fantasy featuring Meralda, a mature eighteen-year-old with extensive responsibilities, being as she is the youngest and first female Royal Thaumaturge of Tirlin. Tirlin is enough like Victorian or Regency England to make the book feel steampunkish without being oppressive. You can give this to a patient kid, or you can enjoy it yourself on a day when you really don’t want anything grim. After all, it is impossible to be unhappy while reading a book in which every scene is stolen by Mug the talking plant.
“A bit melodramatic, wouldn’t you say?” said Mug. “All he needs is a necklace made of skulls to complete the whole penny-novel villain look.”
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