laurel [the suspected bibliophile]'s Reviews > The Privilege of the Sword

I read this a bajillion years ago (okay, I read it in college) and hated it.

However, my work bestie said that it was one of their favoritist books of their teen years, and so I had to read it again and see what happened.

Turns out, Aged Me got the undertones and enjoyed it a whole lot more than the first time, despite, once again, never having read the first book (probably should read the first book to get more backstory, but I don't know that it's necessary).

There's a roving cast of characters, hopping all over the place in POVs in a way that's not really done anymore (this book was released in 2006) but all the vogue before the 2010s hit. It's a fantasy world with only the hints of magic at the edges, and a girl training to be a swordswoman for reasons unknown by her Mad Uncle the Duke (and at the end of the book, I'm still not quite sure what his rationale was). There are gay master swordsmen, bisexual women coming into their feelings, fabulous actresses, competent underlings, grasping nobles and a fifteen year old protagonist who feels very fifteen.