3 stars
Follow Gwendolyn Gooch on her newest venture, creating a giant tower to cram the entire city of Verdigris into so she can milk them for their life savings.
Honestly, I didn’t like this one as much as the first book. While Gwendolyn is probably really fun to write, I couldn’t stand reading about her. I don’t mind reading about dislikable characters, but everyone’s obsession with Gwendolyn irritated me to no end.
This is totally a me thing, but I found this book so draining.
SPOILER AHEAD
None of the “bad” characters get what they deserve and all of the “good” characters get pretty terrible endings. You are constantly given a little glimmer of hope then it is dashed before your eyes. I found the whole thing exhausting.
END SPOILER
Plenty of cool elements like undead hotel staff, what happens when brownie-like hobs go on strike, and an interesting magic system. Mrs. Bobkins is clearly the best character ever. And I do enjoy the footnotes throughout.
There were some great elements, but I found the story so emotionally draining it was hard to stay engaged while reading.