I do think there are probably a fair number of fantasy stories in the Alanna mold where the First Woman Triumphantly Succeeds At Stuff And Proves All the Haters Wrong, I just . . . always want more of them . . . I dunno, my feelings are pretty conflicted about it.

BUT YES having Nijiri as a protag was great! I didn't connect with him as much as I connected with Hanani, but I did really enjoy seeing him grow, and getting to see him again as an adult in Book 2. And ooh, thanks for linking to the short story! I hadn't seen that, and I'm super excited to read it now.