The Tattooed Duchess by Victor Gischler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two months after the events of Ink Mage, Rina Veraiin is officially the Duchess of Klaar. She's struggling balancing the life she wants to live with Alem, the desire to use her powers, and the responsibility of being a Duchess. Meanwhile events are unfolding around her that could easily change not only Klaar, but the entire world.
The Tattooed Duchess is a far different story than it's predecessor Ink Mage. I envisioned Rina would turn into one of those kind of hot yet kind of scary tattooed motorcycle women, but she's firmly committed to caring for Klaar and she's not traveling the globe in search of new tattoos. It's a nuanced approach as many authors would have her gather power rather than handle her responsibilities to Klaar. She's quickly learning for all the power of being a Duchess, she's somewhat powerless in choosing how to live her life as the King of Helva's heir, Gant, has explained.
The story immediately adds a new threat in the form of a resurrected god Mordis. The resurrection was unexpected yet fitting considering the exchange Rina had when she obtained the hand of death tattoo. Mordis is on the periphery of this story, but when he appears things go insane.
In many ways The Tattooed Duchess is the standard middle book of a trilogy. It sets the table for the events in the final book. The book is full of cliffhangers even though less events happened in this book compared to the Ink Mage. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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