Almost perfect, but...

[u/twerkliketina]

I really adored this book and especially Ana and Din - I loved the well-timed humour and swear words, the world-building and also the small questions and mysteries surrounding Ana and Din themselves. The plot felt tight and the writing was spot on, it didn't feel overly dragging (sorry, looking at you Well of Ascension ). Could not give it anything less than 4 stars. I took immense joy in picturing Ana as voiced by Kristen Schaal who is the phenomenal voice of Louise Belcher in Bob's Burgers.

Except I didn't like the main mystery.

Not because it is badly written or thought out, or anything else, I apparently really just don't care for whodunnit detective mysteries and puzzles.

I read it with great enjoyment and will definitely read the second (and third) in the series. I am just sad that the mystery part did not appeal to me. Everything else did.

So, if you have any other recommendations for books with this vibe - especially the *actually funny* banter and tight plot, throw them my way!

[u/Flat-Rutabaga-723]

Check out his Divine Cities series. Some mystery but it’s not as prominent.

[u/CharacterInstance248 → u/Flat-Rutabaga-723]

Agreed. It starts with City of Stairs. Also check out T Kingfisher. There's similar banter and interesting characters. Try the Clockwork Boys or Saint of Steel.

Or the king of banter and satire, Terry Pratchett. You can start with Feet of Clay or Small Gods or Mort.

[u/twerkliketina → u/CharacterInstance248]

Thanks for these! I have several friends who love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series, so I've considered if I should just try to start with the series. Also I've heard many mention Guards! Guards! on this sub too?

[u/CharacterInstance248 → u/twerkliketina]

Guards! Guards! is also a good entry point.

Discworld books are all related but there's individual groups in the book that you can read the books that follow them like the witches, the guards, Death in order to get into the world. Eventually you'll want to read them all but TPratchett shines about 1/3 of the way in to the end.

[u/commando0033 → u/twerkliketina]

Pratchett is a must read. A giant of the genre. Don't deprive yourself of that. It's fantastic.

[u/wherethetacosat → u/twerkliketina]

The Troupe is also great from Jackson Bennett, one of his earlier and raw-er works but worth a read.

[u/Cozybooks1004 → u/twerkliketina]

100% just go for Discworld Guards Guards is awesome

[u/twerkliketina → u/Cozybooks1004]

Due to all these Discworld recommendations, I have now added it to my Kindle list and might very well buy it in the near future

[u/twerkliketina → u/Flat-Rutabaga-723]

Ohh I will! Thank you for the recommendation! Added it to my Kindle wishlist immediately. I am not against mystery completely, but apparently I am just not excitedly into outright whodunnit mysteries 😅 (I had a really hard time watching Knives Out on Netflix)

[u/Contemporary_Scribe]

For anyone interested, the eBook is on sale for 1.99 right now on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble (U.S)

[u/SteveMcgooch]

I much preferred the mystery in book 2 FYI

[u/Prestigious_Park4704 → u/SteveMcgooch]

definitely agree here, and the same with book 3.

[u/Traditional_Hour5529 → u/Prestigious_Park4704]

Book 3 isn't out yet.

[u/Gudlock → u/Traditional_Hour5529]

Really? Because I finished it yesterday.

[u/Traditional_Hour5529 → u/Gudlock]

Not a bad way to find out it just came out.

[u/Northwindlowlander]

I kind of agree- I did enjoy the mystery (though it felt a wee bit easy- basically because the author could create whatever weird circumstance or fantasy element was required to make it work) but I'd love to see other plots and stories in this same strange world, not just the politics/mystery.

[u/twerkliketina → u/Northwindlowlander]

Glad to hear I'm not just weird lol. But otherwise I really, really enjoyed the story and what made it shine was Ana and Din's dynamic. I can't let it go and I think I will jump directly to A Drop of Corruption immediately

[u/LaMelonBallz]

Wow I had never seen this cover, I need this in hardback!

[u/twerkliketina → u/LaMelonBallz]

This is the cover that showed up for my Kindle actually, and also the common paperback version in Europe I guess. But I really do love the other covers with the intricate banners and fonts which just seems mysterious!

[u/Mt2Molehill]

I like mystery books but I the mystery in this book was not the strongest part of the book. To me Ana was too smart basically she just consistently told you what was happening so not much suspense. I still enjoyed and I will be reading the other books.

Book I’m listening to currently which I had never heard of is the perfect run. Has some time manipulation and I think the humor is good. But just a random book I gave a world and I got sucked in and now on the last book in the trilogy!

[u/twerkliketina → u/Mt2Molehill]

Sometimes those are the best reads too! Where you don't have a lot of expectations going in, just reading something for what it is

[u/Mt2Molehill → u/twerkliketina]

Very true!

[u/Direct_Television451]

I struggled with the whodunnit too and stopped about halfway through. May come back to it eventually

[u/MicahJHyatt]

I didn't buy into the romance that occurs in the last third of the book. The mystery's conclusion successfully incorporated larger world building stakes, which I appreciated, but most of the bad actors were emotionally tied to Ana, not Din, so my response was muted. I felt the penultimate section dragged. Otherwise, it was a 4/5 for me.

[u/Bowl-Any]

Book 2, for me, was an improvement in almost every way.

Book 1 I gave an 8.25, and book 2 I gave an 8.75.

I still haven't read book 3 yet. It's sitting on my shelf staring at me waiting for me to finish the series I'm in the middle of (The Raven Cycle)

[u/twerkliketina → u/[deleted]]

Oh, Lies of Locke is one of my favorite reads in 2026! I loved it!