I just finished reading the two-book stories of Castle Waiting about hodge podge family living in a remote castle on a cliff. Sometimes it is their daily lives and chores and sometimes it is tales woven of their pasts each bubbling with a sense of humor and a touch of adventure.

The world of Castle Waiting is a psuedo-Middle Ages Europe with a layer of minimal magic. But the setting of a non-past past doesn’t stop Castle Waiting from delivering perspectives on all kinds of serious business. Everything from women being property, to a few bad apples giving an entire race of people a tainted reputation, to using compassion when tackling mental illness, to gender roles, to spreading religion, and much more. All of it done with a wry smile.

There was a lot to love about the series, even though I wasn’t sure I was going to like Castle Waiting after the initial story, but I was wrong. I fell in love with it somewhere around the escaping from the circus part.

These are just a few of the things that stood out to me.

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