I'm a long time fan of Shinn's; her Mystic and Rider book is one of my favorite fantasies and her stand alone fantasy Summers at Castle Auburn is one of my 'feel good' books I turn to when I get tired of dark fantasy (not that often, but hey we all reach a limit at times). Troubled Waters is much like Auburn in that its a generally upbeat and positive book, about a young girl coming into her own and navigating a world of secrets.

While Zoe may not always believe in the blessings she was given at her birth (blessings are charms chosen at birth that give a glimpse into what a person has to look forward to in their life; they can also be chosen at Temple), but she does believe that whatever happens she will endure it. Through happenstance, or maybe its fate, Zoe finds out about her destiny (the destiny her grandmother pronounced years ago) that her father hid from her and from there her story begins to tangle with the complicated threads of the royal court.

Much like people believe in the zodiac (astrological or chinese) can determine a person's personality or love life, the idea of blessings and the elemental signs is strongly believed to be what holds everything in balance. Darien relates a story to Zoe about a past King who sought to have a 72nd child because until he did the land was plagued by disease and droughts, but as soon as he adopted a nephew as his own the land began to flourish. Zoe remains skeptical that such things can be wholly dependent upon the balance and Darien gives a practical view on this. If a person feels more confident because it is widely believed a man with his sign is meant to be confident, then he is confident. If a person is lazy because a person with his sign is reported to be lazy, then he is lazy. Belief is a powerful thing, and their world revolved around belief.

Though Zoe acknowledges that she made hasty decisions and things could equally have turned out badly instead of as well as they did, there is a naivete to the entire book that I found a little irritating. Dark subjects are touched upon--such as pedophilia, child murder plots, adultry--but they are treated as obstacles to easily overcome. Or, in the case of adultry for at least one character, because he is sweela (elemental sign of fire) its not surprising he had dalliances. Or Darien, who is hunti (wood), Zoe doesn't feel as much frustration as I would about his stubbornness. As much as several of the characters declaimed the signs ruling their beliefs or thoughts, they based opinions on those very things. No one is surprised that Zoe is a passionate person who likes to travel, because she is the daughter of a coru woman and sweela father.

This isn't a fast paced book. There are often scenes of daily life that don't move along the plot, but depict the lives of the people in better detail. Time is kind of hard to calculate (even with the guide in the back of the book), but months go by where Zoe is just working at the shoe shop, enjoying meals with her friends at the river where they all camp out and just learning what it means to be free. The sudden change from focusing on Zoe's newfound freedom to royal intrigue was jarring.

I'll say this much for Darien, even though I didn't approve of his methods, or high-handedness, or deceit, I did approve of how he respected Zoe and respected her need for privacy or time by herself to find herself. He could have easily blabbed to her mother's family, the Lalinder's, where she was, but he let her come to the conclusion by herself and let her approach when it was right for her.

In the end I enjoyed this book and enjoyed Zoe's adventures. It was refreshing that she was twenty-three (or so) instead of being a teenager. I think it served the book better that she wasn't a precocious teen girl. I definitely enjoyed the elemental signs and the blessings, and I hope to one day read another story in this world!

(re read 3/5/16, comments hereunder are from my re read )

I realized on my re read that this often comes across less like a fictional novel and more like an anthropological quasi-docudrama about the Land of Welce. it's fascinating, though dry (ironically given the title) at times. Maybe because I listened to it as an audiobook, but the story felt much slower this time around and things definitely didn't happen quite as quickly as I remembered. ( )

There are so many things that I like about this book -- not least that it held up well to a re-read. I really like the world -- the elemental blessings, the way that people seek guidance and the ways they lean into their own character traits. I love that Zoe is so very content sleep by the river with minimal possessions, and that she is so fierce in care and defense of others when she has the opportunities. I love that the first part of the book really sweeps me along in the world-building, and getting to know the characters is a slow and building process -- as the book progresses, the characters really take over and the plot starts to zip along. It mirrors Zoe's state of mind. I also love the alternate reality in which something that sounds like cleaner energy is in the process of transforming a society. It's very interesting, and doesn't have the residual sorrow and discomfort for what we've done to our own world. Just very satisfying. ( )

Zoe Ardelay lives with her father in a remote village after his exile from the royal court. After his death, she is stunned to discover that she is supposed to become the fifth wife of the king. She learns that she is the Prime of her Mother's family and she has magical control over all water. Entering the King's court she is involved with international intrigue.
This story is particularly interesting for the spiritual aspects the author creates as part of her world building. The concept of the Blessings and how they shape the lives of people was fascinating.

library book re-read 6/14/2023 ( )

An engaging read, if not overly stunning. But I am a sucker for society-building and elemental-style magic. I also really was intrigued by the blessing system. ( )

Sharon Shinn does it again. I've found that she's pretty hit & miss when it comes to what I like but Troubled Waters is pretty great. The world is lovely and so are the characters. It ended up feeling slightly incomplete but the ending was still good. The romance isn't annoying and the flaws of the main character are interesting. ( )