Imagine it – Alkarra 2022. You have just learned about Leda. Now, your service dog, with the help of her 8-pound little sister, are going nuts licking your face because the tears won’t stop.
Anyone who has been following Bianca since Miss Mabel’s School for Girls has experienced a wide range of emotions. Well, buckle up, readers. Katie Cross creates an emotional rollercoaster that for exceeds anything an engineer could design.
Leda may well be the most complex person in all Alkarra. We got a glimpse into that complexity while she was at Miss Mabel’s. She kept herself mostly isolated from the other students. The only friends she made were Bianca, Priscilla, and Camille. However, everything is different since the War of the Networks.
Leda is all grown up now. She is Assistant to the High Priestess. Leda has great responsibility, and no one can do her job as well. She controls everything in the High Priestess’s office in such a way that the Underassistants are afraid of her. The only one allowed to spend time with person is the person who shares her office – Hiddleston.
Hiddleston, Hiddleston, Hiddleston…(insert swoon here)
What can be said about Hiddleston. He is intelligent, kind, handsome, and more like Leda than she realizes. Hiddleston is also the reason Leda can spend more time with Bianca since she returned from Alaysia knocking on death’s door. Leda wants and needs to be with Bianca. The thought of losing another friend is more than Leda can bare.
Leda wears a memento around her neck. She often reaches for the memento, sometimes without even realizing. This seems to bring Leda comfort when she needs it. However, the memento may be hurting Leda more than helping her. It certainly gives insight into why Leda guards her heart so fiercely, and why she uses work as an outlet for her emotions.
I loved Leda since I first met her in Miss Mabel’s School for Girls. After diving into her life and coming to understand her, I love her even more. She is an amazing witch with so much to offer. Her future certainly seems bright. My hope is that we get to watch her grow and meet her full potential,
To say Katie Cross is brilliant may be repeating myself. Nonetheless, it is worth repeating. Katie Cross is brilliant!! No other author has prompted me to make a special shelf just to accommodate his/her books – complete with dragons holding the shelf underneath and dragons guarding Alkarra from above.
Another aspect of Katie Cross’s books is that they are clean. I would not hesitate to allow my 11-year-old to read Katie’s books. In fact, all of Katie’s books are clean, whether young adult fantasy, contemporary romance, or chick lit. She wants everyone to be able to read her books, and she has readers from youth to the young at heart from all over the world.
As for Leda, get ready for all the feels Also, prepare yourself to be thinking about Leda long after you finish the book.