Review: Not your average "day in the life"
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 10, 2013
Okay, it may be an average day in the life of the EE team.This is a novella intended to be read between books 5 & 6 of the Emperor's Edge series.  Without that background it will still be a funny, enjoyable read, but won't make a whole lot of sense. If you're looking to sample the Emperor's Edge, may I suggestShadows Over Innocence (an Emperor's Edge short story)or the first book,The Emperor's Edge, both of which are free.  :)If $2.99 seems a little high for something listed as a "novella" let me assure you that it is just over half the length of a regular novel and reads like one.  This is by no means a mere "short story."  After the intensity of "Conspiracy" and "Blood & Betrayal" it was nice to see a bit more of Buroker's skill with levity.  There is still intensity and some good ol' fashioned action, but there was room for the characters to relax and breathe as well.While we still have Amaranthe's counterpoint, the main focus is on Evrial Yara, a new and uncertain addition to the group.  Uncertain because she doesn't know where her loyalties lie, and getting inside her head was a real treat.  She has an outsider's perspective on the group, which we haven't actually seen before, and her reactions to their interactions can be priceless.  After her experience with them on the train and battling with Forge, Yara still has to make up her mind about whether she will stay with the team.  Will she support Sespian, or go back to her life as an enforcer?  Now that she's been seen with them, does she even have the choice?As for the story - we join the team hiding out on a passenger ship making its way back to Stumps.  They manage to come across a few Forge members, an acrobatics troupe, one of the most intimidating weapons we've seen yet (this is where having readEncryptedcomes in handy), and most surprisingly of all - an explosion.  Or two.Things I loved about this book include the easy movement forward in relationships - familial, platonic, romantic, and physical - that could have involved lots of drama and angst but progress smoothly without either.  This cannot be simplified down to "a romantic interlude" because there's far more to it than that, but that does happen too.  ;)