The story itself is okay, I didn’t hate what I was reading. What frustrated me was the expectation. The series is titled Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, so I kept waiting for the main character’s story to continue. Instead, the last book shifts entirely to her mother’s perspective. If it had been labeled clearly as a prequel or a spinoff, I might have picked it up on its own. But continuing the numbering under the same series title feels disingenuous, like I was tricked into reading something else. Because of that, I don’t feel like finishing, even though I might have enjoyed it if it had been presented differently.
It seems Iris and her family are still the focus and lead in for this story, however, the entire thing is written as educating Iris on her mother's history and childhood, so while they are there, the majority of the story is told from Mer's point of view. Every now and then it comes back to the present to segue into another part of the story or show some other recent interaction, but the majority of the book focuses in Mer's childhood sword training and how she first met Iris' father.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This vol is the start of a side story separate from the completed main story. It centers around the previous mcs mother. Overall I would say it's an enjoyable read, but it does drag on in parts especially with a lot of internal monologues and very shoved in your face morals/views, that just get repeated over and over again.
This is the start of the story about Iris' mother and how she gained her skills with the blade, what she did with it and how she met Iris' father. It is not a complete story, although it does not end at a cliff hanger. It starts with how her mother is murdered, and the impact it had on her life and follows her through her first few years. It is mostly a build up to the big events referred to in the earlier volumes of the series. The story is easy to read, and I enjoyed it, but it there is a lot of inner monologuing, the combats are simple and it is not particularly original. All in all, an enjoyable read for fans of the series, but nothing ground breaking.