 Hello my darling extraterrestrials, I am Kim. This is Dustmoats and Velikor, and Trader's Ruin is a fast-paced hypnotizing adventure with a romance that is so heartbreaking. I literally threw the book across the room in the best way. You know what I'm talking about, right? Like, when it just gives you so many feels that you're just like, you have to punish it somehow. And if you haven't thrown a book across the room, you should seriously try it and also possibly read different books. That's mean. I shouldn't say that. But also like, it's cathartic. Find a book that gives you so many feels that you have to pitch it across the room. I do, I do react to emotions quite physically. Okay, this is a tangent and we're moving on. Potential spoilers for the first book because this is the second novel in the Trader Circle trilogy? Saga? Fingers crossed for a saga because oh my god, I could read 12 more books of Alex and Sage like bickering and being in love just while they serve King and Country. The first book follows Sage Fowler, a highly intelligent young woman in a world that is not really prepared for highly intelligent young women. She also has an unusual skill set, having grown up in the woods with her father who's a fowler. He trains hawks. I had to look it up. She learned to track, to hunt, to find water, and which plants you definitely shouldn't eat because they are going to kill you. But after the death of her father, she finds herself in the care of her uncle and the tutor to her young nieces and nephews. She also finds herself on the list of eligible young women to be put before the matchmaker. This is not at all what Sage wants for herself and she goes to considerable lengths to make herself appear unsuitable. Darnessa, the matchmaker, sees through this in an instant. But instead of forcing Sage into an unwanted marriage, Darnessa instead takes her on as a sort of apprentice, tasked with gathering information about all of the eligible young people in the kingdom and all of their families so as to make the best matches for them, of course. Sage is very good at this. Traders kiss unfolds into a complex plot of mistaken identities and espionage, treason, and romance. You can read it by itself, but why would you because Traders Ruin is here? Seriously, if you haven't read the first book, like stop here. Go read the first book because after this point there will be spoilers. The second book Traders Ruin starts when Sage is working as a tutor to the royal family and the queen comes to her seeking information about the secrets that are unfolding in the king's council chambers. These secrets definitely involve Sage's betrothed Captain Alex Quinn who's been recalled to the capital with urgent haste and only the foggiest of instructions. When the king tasks him to train an elite force of soldiers in secret, Sage knows that there's something happening beneath the surface and no one gets between Sage and the information she seeks, not even Alex himself. This book is a beautiful mixture of espionage and romance and politics and adventure. It's very fast paced and since there are multiple perspectives flying around, you the reader always end up knowing everybody else's secrets first, so you're just waiting for someone to put the pieces together. You're never actually worried about the outcome. The whole effect is a positive upbeat adventure that has your mind racing but isn't really anxiety inducing. I gotta say though so many of the heartaches in this book could have been solved with communication. Alex has a bad habit of stopping discussions before they even happen and if at any point he had actually listened to Sage and maybe explained why he didn't think pretty much any of the things that she was suggesting should happen, she wouldn't have felt the need to go behind his back. And I'm not saying that's justified either, I'm just like she- he left her without any options aside from going above his head and then he got hurt that she went above his head and really it was his own damn fault but also there are valid reasons. Really just talk to your significant other. Just talk to them. Really I think that's the main lesson of this book is just to talk to your significant other like communicate your needs. Just be like hey yo this is what's going on. So most of this book is them learning how to be together because sometimes love isn't enough but I kind of love the heartache. I'm here for it. What can I say? I enjoy crying. So if you also enjoy crying by which I mean you want to sink your teeth into a fast-paced crazy story of romance and espionage and politics, check out Traders Ruin by Erin Beatty and then come tell me what you thought. Oh and don't forget to subscribe. A viento!