February is here, which means it’s time for us to return to Terre d’Ange. We will be reading and discussing Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey over the next 6 weeks; if you’d like to join us, you’re very welcome! A breakdown of our reading schedule and the first week’s discussion prompts are included below.

Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève is a living legend: the god-touched saviour of Terre d’Ange, peer of the realm and Servant of Naamah. When her retirement to her quiet country estate is interrupted by a mocking gift from her old enemy Melisande Shahrizai, she determines to return to Court to unpick the web of lies that hide a traitor to the Crown. Her choice to return to her trade as courtesan and spy will cost her dear – but to do nothing is to risk Queen and country. And even Joscelin Verreuil can’t argue with that. Although he may make painful decisions of his own…

Reading schedule and hosts

Sex, adventure, politics and travel lie ahead – if you care to join us, we’ll tackle about 150 pages each week, with weekly discussions in blog posts and/or comments starting this coming week. Read at your own pace, but please, no spoilers for advance chapters in posts or chat comments! If you fall behind, you can be sure we’ll still be happy to chat later when you catch up.

• Week One | Beginning through end Chapter Seventeen – hosted here at There’s Always Room for One More
• Week Two | Chapter Eighteen – Thirty
• Week Three| Chapter Thirty-one – Forty-four – hosted by Zezee with Books
• Week Four | Chapter Forty-five – Fifty-five – hosted by Mayri @ BookForager
• Week Five | Chapter Fifty-six – Seventy
• Week Six | Chapter Seventy-one through the end – hosted by Lisa @ Dear Geek Place

Fancy joining in? You are more than welcome – just drop a comment here to let us know to expect you. Want to host a week? Week two or five are still up for grabs; yell, and they’re yours.

As the read-along ringleader, I’m setting the prompts this week and will post my response (and a round-up of links) on Thursday. Prompts for future weeks will be posted on the host blog and/or to the Goodreads group each Saturday or Sunday for the following week.

Week One discussion prompts

What is your position on Phèdre’s decision to return to Court as a Servant of Naamah – and Joscelin’s reaction to it? Do you have more sympathy with one or the other? 

Phèdre is quite certain that the sangoire cloak is a challenge – and a promise that she can unlock Melisande’s secrets if she applies her arts. Why do you think Melisande sent her the cloak? 

We get to know a plethora of characters this week: Favrielle nó Eglantine, Remy, Fortun and Ti-Phillipe, Nahum ben Isaac, Marmion Shahrizai, Severio Stregazza – any new favourites so far? Any thoughts on how Favrielle and Nahum flesh out aspects of the world-building?

Phèdre comments on the Midwinter Masque as a recurring motif in her life, but it’s far from the only echo of earlier events. What do you make of the way this first act mirrors events of Kushiel’s Dart?

(First time readers) Care to place your bets on who helped Melisande to escape Troyes-les-Mont?

…and of course anything else you’d like to share your musings on!

Please remember to either post a link to your post / thread to the Goodreads group or tag me so that I can find and share your thoughts with the rest of the read-along group. Happy reading!