The Goblin Emperor

[psocoptera]

I had not been going to read The Goblin Emperor on account of Katherine Addison actually being Sarah Monette and I didn't like her solo book Melusine at all when I tried to read it (having previously known her as half of the Companion to Wolves authors), but then so many people were liking Goblin Emperor that I did. And I LOVED it, so yay me (and maybe they were onto something more than tricking bookstores with the name change business?). Eighteen-year-old protagonist gets catapulted from a life of exile and abuse to the Imperial throne and has to deal with court intrigue and marriage arrangements and he's just so *nice* and *tries so hard* and there are some really well-written and delicately handled characterizations of... well, *everybody*, everybody in the cast seems like an interesting person even if we only see them in passing, and there's some very cool worldbuilding going on with the elves and the goblins and the language and names and honorifics and the way some of that fits into the story. I would have happily spent two more books in this world but it's apparently intended as a standalone, alas. Recommended particularly for people who like the Barrayar parts of the Vorkosigan books but also for fantasy readers in general.