Fun, light reading.
This was a genuinely funny book in places, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first half—the story arc part. The remainder of the book was filled with alternative takes on the main events by the other parties involved and slice-of-life moments in Fia’s life. Although I found the story half thin, I did enjoy most of the short stories.
One recurrent theme in this series is Drunk Fia. I suppose she’s supposed to be cute while plastered, but I have a problem with excessive drinking. You could blame my religion, but honestly, a drunk driver killed my brother, so I just don’t find scenes of drunken revelry entertaining. Too much baggage on my part. I know. Even after all these years.
Fortunately, Drunk Fia didn’t represent much of the main story at all, so she was easily ignored, but those scenes took away a star for me. Otherwise, it would have been an inspirational read because the author has such excellent comedic timing.
One of the side stories that I found very insightful to the canon of the series was the one centered on the dragon familiar. By giving the readers his backstory, the author helped us understand how and why FIA is so important to him. This side story, like the majority of them, didn’t feel like filler but instead gave depth to the story. I’m looking forward to volume three. Hopefully, they’ll hit the sauce a lot less, but it’s not likely.