Blog #1: A great beginning?

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith begins with Countess Meliara and her brother Branaric mourning their father's death. It seems that this book never really had an exposition, chapter, or even a paragraph describing the setting. The reader is thrown straight into a war. I started reading this and was confused and bored right away. I cannot read about war strategies, my mind just wanders so the beginning of Crown Duel was difficult to get through. But the information Sherwood Smith was giving seemed important for the rest of the book, so I did not let myself get discouraged. I found out, however, that Crown Duel is not just a story about war strategies: it is one of suspense and action. By page 43, Mel falls into a trap, a literal trap that badly injures her leg. She is captured by the Court Shmuck a Marquis, Varandic Shevraeth. I did not understand or even like the beginning of this book! But now that Mel has been captured, it all of a sudden has wonderful suspense and action. Sherwood Smith ends almost every chapter with a sentence such as, "And then I was captured." Or, "And then everything went black." Wonderful supsense. The action is plentiful as well. Mel can fight with and without a sword, on horseback and off. Even the snobby Marquis can fight. He does, in fact save Mel's life more than once. And I think it is because he fancies her. And despite her intense hatred toward him, she, as well, fancies him. Ah, so much to talk about!