Chapter two surprised me, not in terms of plot or character progression (let’s be real, it’s the second chapter) but in terms of worldbuilding. And I’m not actually impressed by the worldbuilding itself, but by the way the author portrayed it. 

We know, very well by now, that Violet has wanted and studied to become a scribe for almost her entire life leading up to this point. It makes sense that she would know many facts about the commerce of the world she lives in, despite having not seen much of it. 

As she’s walking across this dreaded parapet, she decides to attempt to calm herself by trying to remember several facts, as this reminds her of her interest in “scribery” and most importantly being in a safe place doing something that she loves. 

I have to applaud the author for finding such a clever way of infodumping such needless information. Well, I'll take that back. I have no way of knowing yet whether or not it’s needless, though I really hope that it is because I could not for the life of me register anything that was said. If you asked me to tell you the facts that Violet spewed out at that moment, I would furrow my brow and break out in a sweat from the sheer effort of trying to recall them.

Again, I’m trying to give the book grace. I can recognize that it’s the second chapter of the first book of a fantasy series, and that as a result, there’s going to be a good deal of new information and infodumping that gets thrown at you right out of the gate. It’s a necessity when you’re being introduced to an entire new world. 

This chapter was a bit shorter than the first. Violet crosses the parapet successfully (a task I’m not sure she would have been able to do if she were not the main character--but that’s besides the point) after being chased by one of the other candidates. 

I didn’t hate nor love this cartoonishly villainous character. He’s been set up since his introduction to be somebody that isn’t very nice, so it isn’t much of a shock to find out that he would throw other candidates over the side of the parapet to their doom. I thought it was funny when Violet threatened to castrate him, though a bit disappointed that she didn’t. He said to her face, multiple times, that he’s going to attempt to kill her. 

Then again, I’m not particularly upset that she didn’t retaliate. If nothing else, the author has done a good job of showing the audience what kind of person Violet is. She doesn’t have the stomach (or the physical ability, but that’s another thing) to be a dragon rider. Showing mercy to somebody that has threatened to harm her is in line with her character thus far. 

There were a total of two times this chapter where it has been acknowledged just how petite Violet is: 

1) I keep my body tight, my center locked, and for once am grateful I’m shorter than most.

2) “You’re pretty small for a rider, but it looks like you made it.”

Personally, I’m more okay with these instances than the previous six because it acknowledges the fact that she’s small without making it seem like it’s the main facet of her persona.