Fevered Star
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Coming off the frankly incredible series introduction in Black Sun, the bar was set very, very high for Fevered Star. I’m not entirely sure it could live up to my hopes and expectations, but it came close. We were introduced to several more factions in the political landscape, and I really enjoyed watching the various allegiances shifting over time. Rebecca Roanhorse did an excellent job writing morally grey characters who were all entirely committed to their own courses of action but who may or may not line up well with the usual ‘good/evil’ dichotemy. Some I loved, some I loved to hate, either way I can’t wait to read more about all of them!
My only real complaint came from the pacing. As intense as the finale was, the middle felt almost bogged down by the sheer quantity of factions who needed to be developed. Based on Roanhorse’s overall writing quality I don’t think this is a long term issue - many trilogies are mind-blowing to read all at once but struggle slightly when broken out into the individual books. Fevered Star isn’t the most impressive stand-alone book I’ve ever read, but it's the middle of a trilogy and it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. The plot advances enough for the book to be worth the time spent reading it. (Looking at you Rothfuss.) The stage has also been set for the grand finale in book 3 with an unexpected conclusion to Fevered Star that I absolutely loved but which I’m sure will trigger strong opinions.
If you’re debating starting Fevered Star or the series as a whole I’ll recommend timing it so that you finish it just before August 2023 - that’s when the third book will be released! Roanhorse has created such a wonderfully complex world I’d recommend re-reading the books before a new release anyway, so if you time it just right you won’t have to suffer a mid series cliffhanger and you’ll get to go into the finale fresh!
I’ve been enjoying the Between Earth and Sky series so much I decided the only possible solution was to pair this with a cocktail with all of my favorite ingredients. Meet the Monkey Lala! It’s a creamy and delicious dessert cocktail popular in Honduras. 10/10 my friends, it was even better than I hoped. Basically an alcoholic milkshake, but the addition of the cream of coconut made it surprisingly refreshing.
Monkey Lala
Ingredients:
1 oz vodka (I use Monopolowa for best budget/price balance)
1 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur (Never use Kahlua brand. It is the worst of the coffee liquors. I’m partial to Denver Distillery’s Dark Roast Coffee Liqueur if you can find it.)
4 oz half-and-half
1 scoop ice cream (Vanilla obv, but let me know if you try something else)
2 oz cream of coconut
Garnish: chocolate syrup
Steps:
Fill blender with ice.
Add vodka, Kahlua, coconut cream, half & half to the blender.
Blend and serve.
Optional: Add chocolate syrup (I dusted with cocoa powder instead, highly recommend)
https://outofofficegal.com/blog/latin-south-american-cocktails
This was so good! I ended up with two servings out of the recipe above, so its perfect for sharing.
