The Providence of Fire

Executive Summary: I liked it, but didn't love it. The supporting characters really shone, while the “Emperor's Blades” seemed dull.Audio book: Simon Vance is excellent as always. He was one of the main reasons I decided to try out [b:The Emperor's Blades 17910124 The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) Brian Staveley https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369246817s/17910124.jpg 25095579]. His performance is such that this series remains a must audio for me, even if it means waiting a bit longer to get my hands on the next book.Full ReviewSo I gave this book the same rating as [b:The Emperor's Blades 17910124 The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) Brian Staveley https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369246817s/17910124.jpg 25095579], and I think in many ways it's better. But I also had higher expectations coming in. I had none for the first book, and found myself pleasantly surprised.So I was looking forward to this. And since I got a review copy that was coming via USPS (twice), I had to wait an extra month to get my hands on it. That further built the anticipation as I watched friends who I had recommended the first one read and highly rate it.This book started off slow. With how the last one ended, I guess I was sort of expecting the book to hit the ground running. The last book is largely the “magic school” trope, although there isn't a whole lot of magic. But there is rigorous training and rivalries and the like. And some of the characters can do magic.So maybe my love of that trope, or the fact that they were “in training” made me less aware of just how STUPID The Emperor's kids are. There was no hiding that here. I'm not a big fan of the super smart, super capable protagonist who can't seem to do any wrong. But I hate the I'm going to pull a plan out of my ass and somehow things will work out mostly right in the end protagonist even worse.It'd be bad enough if one of them did. But all three of them did. And continued to do it. They didn't learn from their mistakes. They didn't really seem to grow as characters. They just kept being idiots. And selfish. It got pretty frustrating.So why did I give this 4 stars? Well two reasons mainly. One the story is interesting. The world building Mr. Stavely does in this book is especially intriguing. The pieces he put in place in this novel look to make for a really interesting third (and final?) book in this series.Secondly he has some great supporting characters. Some are returning from the first novel, and some are new. In particular I really enjoyed the POV chapters from a former supporting character who was given a chance to shine. They were easily my favorite chapters in the book. I only wish they had started sooner. Maybe even in the last book, but it wouldn't have made too much sense, so I understand the reasoning.So overall this book is better, but with higher expectations, I found myself a bit disappointed at the same time. But I'm looking forward to the next book. I think for a middle book there is a lot to like. Hopefully the Emperor's kids will get a clue by then.