So while I loved Ember's End, there was one area of the book that feels somewhat disappointing. I think this comes primarily from the fact that S.D. Smith did a time skip, going from the moment of the Stone Sword breaking to the first Feast of the Mending, a period of more than a year's time. Unfortunately, encapsulated within that year-or at least the time right at the beginning of it-are a lot of character moments that I think it would have been very enjoyable to read about. These fall into one of a few categories:

Reunions

A major part of the conflict involved in the Green Ember series is how families and friends have been torn apart by the actions of the Lords of Prey and their allies. Very near the beginning of the story, the family of Whittle and Sween is separated, and it isn't until Ember's End that they reunite. However, there are other family and friend group reunions that didn't get any sweet reunion scenes. These include, but are not limited to:

*Wilfred and Whittle-I feel like the brothers should have gotten at least one scene together, particularly after what Whittle went through in defeating and then trying to save Garten.

*Smalls and Emma-we heard how relieved Emma was to not have to be queen, but it would have been nice if she could have had a sibling moment with her brother.

*Wilfred and Heather-because I feel like Heather deserves a "you're not dead!" moment with her uncle.

*Smalls and his brothers-this would have been quite an interesting scene, with the penitent Winslow and Whitbie greeting the brother they once rejected. For that matter, it might have been interesting if the whole set of royal siblings-including all the other brothers and sisters we never got introduced to-put in an appearance.

*Picket and Weezie-okay, I know they weren't separated for too long, I think a lot could have been done with Weezie seeing Picket after he awoke from his coma.

*Smalls and Lady Glen-after he nearly got himself killed going to help her in The Green Ember, it seems a shame that Smalls and his mom didn't get a moment like she and Emma did.

*Maggie and Edward-I'd been anticipating just such a moment since "Stitcher" introduced himself properly to Sween in Ember Falls, and...nothing.

First Meetings

As fun as it is to imagine reunions between long-separated friends and family, the idea of character who have never before interacted with each other also has some appeal to it. One of the things about having a story from the points of view of multiple characters, often in completely different locations and situations, is that you tend to have one character or group interact with characters that the other(s) won't end up meeting, or at least not to begin with. But when/if they do, it can lead to some interesting developments, like a certain Lady of Rohan meeting a certain Captain of Gondor, if you know what I mean😉. Of course, it doesn't have to be romantic, as other relationships can prove interesting. Some ideas I favor:

*Heather and Weezie-it seems a shame that we didn't get to glimpse Picket's sister and his then-future wife getting to know each other. I can see the pair of them bonding over concern for Picket during his coma, Weezie being astonished when she learns who Heather is, and Heather helping to comfort Weezie when she learns about Helmer's death and doubtless fears that she'll also lose Picket after learning just how bad his condition is.

*The Commandant and someone who knows who he really is-do I really need to say more?

Well, those are my thoughts. If anyone has any such encounters they feel like we missed out on, feel free to share.