[review] Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Beka Cooper has just lost someone she once loved and she doesn’t know how to deal with her lack of grief. Luckily, her adopted father brings a new case to keep her busy, and this has stakes that are higher than anything she’s taken on before. Beka must trust her instincts and learn to trust again in order to save the entire country from enemies within.

Time to read two days. I’d have read it easily in one night (despite it being a pretty hefty book) if it weren’t for having to be up early for work the next day.

Let’s get something clear right off the bat: Tamora Pierce is my favourite author ever. She is my first favourite author and so she holds a very special place in my heart. As far as I’m concerned, she can do no wrong. I have devoured all of her books and I am slowly buying them so that I may devour them all again. You need to read her series. When you’re lamenting about the fact that strong women characters don’t exist, pick up Allanah the Lioness. Pierce was writing about women, even the topics that are hardly discussed today, from the very beginning. God, I love her so much.

But to focus on Mastiff. Mastiff broke my heart. I can’t tell you why, but you need to know that Pierce’s characters are some of the most well-rounded characters you will ever find. They don’t only contain bits of white, black, and grey; they continue to develop as time passes and are actually influenced by events that happen to them.

Yes, there is a love story. But that’s not what this is about. The focus is on Beka’s professional journey. Her self-journey. Not her romantic journey (though that adds to her self-journey instead of becoming it like I see in so much YA fiction these days). Beka is the kind of protagonist I wish I could see in every female centred fiction. She is a true heroine.

Plus, as an added bonus, Pierce brings into focus a cause that is still valid today no matter how much we’d like to deny it. She dedicates this book to modern day slaves and urges her readers to look at this website, to be informed, to make a difference.

Have I mentioned how much I love her?

Novels with similar aspects

The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce

The Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce

recommended to women looking for a good story and a strong female protagonist.

not recommended to someone looking for a light story, a pure romance, or a happily ever after.

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