Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop wants nothing more than to have fun and be a spy like her father, the spymaster of the kingdom of Tortall. After an argument with her mother, the famed Lioness and King’s Champion, Aly decides to leave home for a brief taste of independence. When she is captured by slavers and taken to the Copper Isles, she finds that her knowledge in the art of spying is about to be put to the ultimate test. Navigating a confusing world of colonialism and magic, Aly makes a deal with the god of tricksters: keep two girls alive for the summer, and he will return her home to her family. To complete her quest, Aly goes into exile with the Balitang family, whose oldest daughters, Sarai and Dove are the key to a revolution generations in the making. With the help of revolutionaries, magic, and a flock of crows, Aly must use all her skills to protect her new friends—and to get home.
Trickster’s Choice is the first book in the Tricksters duology, which is set in the wider Tortall Universe. While I don’t believe that reading the other Tortall books is necessary, it may help clear up some details about Aly’s family, who make several cameos throughout the book. I liked the book, as it showed a different side of conflicts in its descriptions of spy craft, which were really fun to read. I also really enjoyed how Trickster’s Choice remained part of a wider universe while still making Aly’s story her own, and how it introduced the topic of colonialism in an easy to understand way, from the point of view of an outsider. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy long series with detailed world building, as well as fans of spy novels or books about knights and revolutions.