I love Keladry's series so much. This is a review of the whole quartet. In a lot of ways this could have been a repeat of Alanna's series. Girl wants to be a knight, finds a way to be a knight, and has to deal with bullies and challenges. However, Kel is such a different character and faces different challenges that it really didn't feel similar at all. The biggest difference is that Alanna's major challenge was to hide that she's a girl and Kel's is to prove that being a girl doesn't mean she can't be a knight and to deal with all the skeptics who wish to see her fail. Another thing I love is that Tamora Pierce is always writing about different type of women and it's just awesome. Kel meets all sorts and she doesn't scorn them at all. She is not ashamed of being a girl. In fact, she goes out of her way to wear dresses so that the others can be reminded of it and know that it's something she's proud of. One of my favorite speeches is in the fourth book when she talks to the other women about how when a woman either is right or has power over a man they either make mention to their monthlies or sex lives. Finally, I liked that Kel had a bunch of crushes and even a relationship but she didn't end up with anyone at the end. Don't get me wrong, I love book relationships but it is kind of nice to have her focus on her knighthood and life and have a bunch of fading love interests instead of falling in love and having that be the person she spends the rest of her life with.
