2022 book 238

 Megan Whalen Turner's Thick as Thieves

I think this does work better read with the first four and not as a stand-alone, since the main POV character is a minor character from book two (the slave/secretary to the imperial ambassador) who's been stolen away by the main POV character from book three (the soldier). However, it is still a very slow read, as it’s just the two of them on the run for 90 percent of the book. I did enjoy their growing friendship, but books where it’s just people journeying around can be very tiresome. I do have hopes that the sixth book will be more action-packed (or at least have more political intrigue).