Froi of the Exiles: Review

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home ... or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood ... and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.








Warning: This review may contain spoilers of Finnikin of the Rock. If you haven't read Finnikin yet, what are doing?? Go now. Right now. Buy it. Read it. Then come read this review because I'm awesome, and there really is no other reason besides that. That doesn't matter though.

My feelings for this book can be best described in this one gif:


However, there's no fun unless I talk about it and I have to somehow convince you guys to read it but that's impossible how can you expect me to do that.

Froi picks up from Finnikin three years later. This time, Froi is our main character. Except not, because Lunar-Chronicles-style, we are also able to see from the other characters' points-of-view from the previous book. We are still able to see from the wonderful view of Finnikin and bad-ass Isaboe, but we also get introduced to these other bad-ass characters, like, for example, Phaedra, who is my new favorite side character of all-time, and Lucian, who is part of my new favorite ship of all-time with my new favorite side character of all-time. Yeah, if you couldn't tell I loved Phaedra and Lucian. They just brought all. The feels. However, let me take a moment to discuss Froi since that is what I should have been doing but Lucian and Phaedra distracted me. Froi, I was worried about you from the previous book. I mean, how could I not be? You did almost rape Isaboe and you stole alot of things in the past. It was entirely natural to be cautious to what to expect from you in this book. But, Froi, you completely, utterly banished any bad thoughts about you, because you were a tremendously amazing character.

Marchetta did a superb job writing Froi's character. Froi's growth was huge in the three years we missed between the books, and I was worried it wouldn't entirely seem realistic, because all-of-a-sudden, Froi would be a nice, friendly character in this book. That was not the case. We are able to see all the scars Froi has from the past, but we can also glimpse the hope Froi has now in his new life. He has friends, family, and a home. Marchetta tells him to be satisfied with his new life in the beginning of the book-but fate has other ideas. I won't go further beyond that detail, because I want to remain mostly mysterious about the overall plot of the novel.
The plot of Froi was what I think I enjoyed most about this novel, which is saying alot because I really liked the characters in this book(even more so than in Finnikin). I felt the story interested me more, because I loved learning about a new kingdom from the same world. It was seamless and beautiful the way Marchetta told the story. Everything was perfect in my eyes.
As usual, Marchetta tells an excellent, engrossing, and morally-questioning story. Her writing style is gorgeous like Finnikin of the Rock. However, I have to point out that I'm partial to the plot of Froi. Finnikin of the Rock was amazing, I will give it that. But Froi seemed like so much to me. I loved the new characters, the politically-driven plot, the gorgeously-detailed setting of a new kingdom, and the romance between Froi and Quintana. I just-ugh.

If you couldn't tell already, anyone who has read Finnikin of the Rock should read this book A.S.A.P. because of its awesome gloriousness. So go off and buy it now if you haven't. If you own it already, what are you waiting for?