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narteest's review against another edition
4.0
Many thanks netgalley for the arc, this is a review that reflects my honest and fair opinions and by no means is influenced by this.
What do I say? To be fair, I haven't read King Lear and perhaps I should. I've never been a big Shakespeare fan, but right now, I'm interested in reading King Lear just to see the source of inspiration for this. The Queens of Innis Lear is an amazing High Fantasy epic that depicts the tragedy between three sisters and the throne of Innis Lear. I was initially interested in this because it reminded me of Three Dark Thrones which I had a love and hate with - loved the idea, hated the execution, and yet I plan to finish that series.
The Queens of Innis Lear however, is a standalone novel, and the only similarity to TDT is the three sisters. Other than that, QIL has a lot more in common with its source of inspiration, King Lear.
And I have to say, I quite loved this one. Though my rating is only 4 stars, that's only because it's such a long read and the writing is as beautiful as it is dense. ALRIGHT. Here are my thoughts:
[1] The three sisters shine in this. Each is swallowed by their own flaws, that drives them right to the brink. Gaela is strength, Regan is the witch, and Elia is the star priestess. By far, Gaela had the strongest personality, pride in her strength and desiring nothing but to rule as King not just a queen. Regan the second, is her sister's contrast, loving more than ice, and she has strong ties with her older sister, so much so that she promised to bear the heirs of Innis Lear while her sister ruled. And then there's Elia, who is the youngest and whom is loved the least by her sisters. She had never cared to be ruler of Innis Lear, but she had loved her father the best. What I love most about the sisters is how strong their ties are to each other - it's not just blood, but it's the experiences, the love and the hate, and all the in-between that said they were sisters. It wasn't just because they shared the same mother or father, but how they felt about each other. Tessa Gratton does a beautiful job depicting this between the sisters. The flashbacks give them depth, and the present gives them promises to keep and experiences to share.
[2] Relationship with their father, was also spectacularly done. Even though that man seemed so crazy and self-centred to begin with, as the story unfolded and as we see him through the eyes of all the characters, King Lear unfolds a more complex character. One who isn't just simply crazy, lost to the stars, but someone who never healed after losing his wife, and not just because hs prophecy came true, but how the truth of that prophecy came out. I won't say I admire King Lear nor do I admire his actions or how everyone felt towards him, especially Elia, but his character was developed well.
[3] Characteristion was just something...that I really enjoyed. Nearly all the characters were well developed. From Gaela and how she came to be the Gaela that she is, Regan and the depth of her love for her husband, to Ban the Fox and his mad race for revenge. Gaela is ruthless, and its clear she would turn the island into ash and bones if she became Queen, but she wants it more than anyone, and she fought and trained to be the leader of the people. She was a warrior Queen. And she had chosen her husband for the sake of the throne and not because she loved him. Regan on the other hand, chose her husband out of love, and yet she felt too much. And Ban, he wanted to be noticed and chosen for himself, and not be remembered and seen as the bastard of Errigal, second to Rory Errigal, and never Duke in his own right. Ban broke my heart. He was what Elia and her handmaiden called a traitor and most hateful person ever, but he was also the most complex, wanting more than anyone. I will say though, that Elia unfortunately becomes a tad irritating to me, for being so unyielding about her father, for never giving Ban what she could infinitely give him. She's no Mary Sue, but she does come close, being the youngest and most naive, who never thought to wear the crown, yet eventually is given the responsibility. Mars also annoyed me. He was characterised well, but I dislike how he ended. Those who shone for me were Gaela, Regan and Ban!
[4] Relationships and romances...especially romances since I've discussed (sort of) the main relationship in point one. I love the relationships sketched out by Gatton for Gaela and her husband, Regan and hers, Elia and Ban, Ban and Rory (as in brothers not romance), Ban and Mars (friends not romance). Each of these were so powerfully drawn, I felt my heart ache for them all. I wanted to cheer from Gaela's husband, sorry that his end was so cruel. Regan and Connley, right from the beginning, it's clear that Regan is having a hard time staying pregnant and yet her husband is right there with her always, supporting her, fighting for her. And she is by no means weak, a witch in her own right, and powerful too. When the end of the story came, my heart broke for Regan, for their love was the kind in which they could only see each other and cease to exist of the other disappears. Elia and Ban's was complicated because of who they were and whom the loved. Ban loved Elia, but Elia loved her father more, and thus, the clash and complexity of their relationship began as small children. When they're older and they meet again, their love is still there, but Ban has changed far more than Elia. When Elia's world changes, she learns as he learns, how much they both have changed. And knowing this, Ban can only go forward, while Elia can only see how to fix it all. I loved the complexity of their relationship, even though I didn't love Elia. I feel as though all those who remained standing at the end, those with a name, were not as colourful and complex as those who died. As for the other relationships, the friendships and the broships, Rory and Ban stood out. One is the true full blooded heir of Errigal, while Ban the elder, is the Duke's bastard son. Yet these two brothers don't hate each other, they envy what the other has, not realising that they envied each other. And because Ban thinks he has the least, his path is determined before he can even begin to think for himself. Watching them two suffer and hurt and betray was so sad! And lastly, Ban and Mars. Their relationship is less explored, but we still see how their relationship has so much value. It's also complex in that Mars is the King of Aremoria, and he had seen Ban as a kid with value, not as a bastard child of a Duke.
[5] Worldbuilding - when it comes to high fantasy worlds. This is high fantasy worldbuilding. It's not just naming a power or whatnot. Gatton crafts a world in which the two philosophies it cherishes, as the very lifeblood of the island. They affect the way people live, are used by them to create other things, and whatnot. The earth - the rootwaters and wormwork, and the stars and prophecy magic. This world is so complex, that without the worldbuilding, this story could not be written.
[6] Writing and flashbacks, were really beautiful. No, not that's not. There are two things I want to talk about here. First, the writing was indeed wonderful, but WARNING, it is dense, like thick and sludgy. But it's beautiful sludge. It's sludge in which the weight of the fantasy world resides in, built and held together. This book might be long, but not a word is wasted (well I think Aefa the fool's daughter was a bit of a wasted pov now that I reflect back since I can barely remember much about her). Right from the beginning, we are given Gratton's beautiful worlds It begins when... - a world is unfolded in these words, as metaphors of earth and sky colour the Queens of Innis Lear. We get a deep feel for the island that should thrive by is barely surviving under the rule of King Lear, and of the daughters that the story is named for. Second! The flashbacks. I know some have commented that the flashbacks seem worthless, but to me, they were very important. They built up the story, laying foundations in ways that this story couldn't have lived without. And we are also treated to the last moments of several characters, unveiling to us as readers truths that the main characters could never show us as they never knew. And reading those parts would always break my heart, one more piece at a time. Without them, these characters would not have been as fleshed out as they were.
[7] This is a book that bonds females and those less privileged in expected and unexpected ways. It doesn't make light of them, and it is heartbreaking. I can't even explain what I mean except that it is exactly as it's titled. Just as King Lear was a story about a King and his story, this is a book about Queens who almost, who do fall short of a prize far too valuable to be lost. And it's not bitching ladies, these queens have deeply rooted, good reasons to fight for what they believe in.
OVERALL - for books similar to Three Dark Thrones, and for those who can handle HIGH FANTASY at its greatest, then this is definitely worth reading. But warning, it is a tragedy and this review barely even touches on the extent to which it is tragic. This is like a hidden gem, it's not the kind of book to immediately catch the attention of others or to hold onto audiences via its romances (aka A Court of Thornes and Roses, which, btw is not not that high fantasy), but it's the kind of fantasy for those looking for something deeper, complex, and meaningful. If that makes any sense at all, as if I haven't written all of the above in an attempt to make sense of my own thoughts about this!!
What do I say? To be fair, I haven't read King Lear and perhaps I should. I've never been a big Shakespeare fan, but right now, I'm interested in reading King Lear just to see the source of inspiration for this. The Queens of Innis Lear is an amazing High Fantasy epic that depicts the tragedy between three sisters and the throne of Innis Lear. I was initially interested in this because it reminded me of Three Dark Thrones which I had a love and hate with - loved the idea, hated the execution, and yet I plan to finish that series.
The Queens of Innis Lear however, is a standalone novel, and the only similarity to TDT is the three sisters. Other than that, QIL has a lot more in common with its source of inspiration, King Lear.
And I have to say, I quite loved this one. Though my rating is only 4 stars, that's only because it's such a long read and the writing is as beautiful as it is dense. ALRIGHT. Here are my thoughts:
[1] The three sisters shine in this. Each is swallowed by their own flaws, that drives them right to the brink. Gaela is strength, Regan is the witch, and Elia is the star priestess. By far, Gaela had the strongest personality, pride in her strength and desiring nothing but to rule as King not just a queen. Regan the second, is her sister's contrast, loving more than ice, and she has strong ties with her older sister, so much so that she promised to bear the heirs of Innis Lear while her sister ruled. And then there's Elia, who is the youngest and whom is loved the least by her sisters. She had never cared to be ruler of Innis Lear, but she had loved her father the best. What I love most about the sisters is how strong their ties are to each other - it's not just blood, but it's the experiences, the love and the hate, and all the in-between that said they were sisters. It wasn't just because they shared the same mother or father, but how they felt about each other. Tessa Gratton does a beautiful job depicting this between the sisters. The flashbacks give them depth, and the present gives them promises to keep and experiences to share.
[2] Relationship with their father, was also spectacularly done. Even though that man seemed so crazy and self-centred to begin with, as the story unfolded and as we see him through the eyes of all the characters, King Lear unfolds a more complex character. One who isn't just simply crazy, lost to the stars, but someone who never healed after losing his wife, and not just because hs prophecy came true, but how the truth of that prophecy came out. I won't say I admire King Lear nor do I admire his actions or how everyone felt towards him, especially Elia, but his character was developed well.
[3] Characteristion was just something...that I really enjoyed. Nearly all the characters were well developed. From Gaela and how she came to be the Gaela that she is, Regan and the depth of her love for her husband, to Ban the Fox and his mad race for revenge. Gaela is ruthless, and its clear she would turn the island into ash and bones if she became Queen, but she wants it more than anyone, and she fought and trained to be the leader of the people. She was a warrior Queen. And she had chosen her husband for the sake of the throne and not because she loved him. Regan on the other hand, chose her husband out of love, and yet she felt too much. And Ban, he wanted to be noticed and chosen for himself, and not be remembered and seen as the bastard of Errigal, second to Rory Errigal, and never Duke in his own right. Ban broke my heart. He was what Elia and her handmaiden called a traitor and most hateful person ever, but he was also the most complex, wanting more than anyone. I will say though, that Elia unfortunately becomes a tad irritating to me, for being so unyielding about her father, for never giving Ban what she could infinitely give him. She's no Mary Sue, but she does come close, being the youngest and most naive, who never thought to wear the crown, yet eventually is given the responsibility. Mars also annoyed me. He was characterised well, but I dislike how he ended. Those who shone for me were Gaela, Regan and Ban!
[4] Relationships and romances...especially romances since I've discussed (sort of) the main relationship in point one. I love the relationships sketched out by Gatton for Gaela and her husband, Regan and hers, Elia and Ban, Ban and Rory (as in brothers not romance), Ban and Mars (friends not romance). Each of these were so powerfully drawn, I felt my heart ache for them all. I wanted to cheer from Gaela's husband, sorry that his end was so cruel. Regan and Connley, right from the beginning, it's clear that Regan is having a hard time staying pregnant and yet her husband is right there with her always, supporting her, fighting for her. And she is by no means weak, a witch in her own right, and powerful too. When the end of the story came, my heart broke for Regan, for their love was the kind in which they could only see each other and cease to exist of the other disappears. Elia and Ban's was complicated because of who they were and whom the loved. Ban loved Elia, but Elia loved her father more, and thus, the clash and complexity of their relationship began as small children. When they're older and they meet again, their love is still there, but Ban has changed far more than Elia. When Elia's world changes, she learns as he learns, how much they both have changed. And knowing this, Ban can only go forward, while Elia can only see how to fix it all. I loved the complexity of their relationship, even though I didn't love Elia. I feel as though all those who remained standing at the end, those with a name, were not as colourful and complex as those who died. As for the other relationships, the friendships and the broships, Rory and Ban stood out. One is the true full blooded heir of Errigal, while Ban the elder, is the Duke's bastard son. Yet these two brothers don't hate each other, they envy what the other has, not realising that they envied each other. And because Ban thinks he has the least, his path is determined before he can even begin to think for himself. Watching them two suffer and hurt and betray was so sad! And lastly, Ban and Mars. Their relationship is less explored, but we still see how their relationship has so much value. It's also complex in that Mars is the King of Aremoria, and he had seen Ban as a kid with value, not as a bastard child of a Duke.
[5] Worldbuilding - when it comes to high fantasy worlds. This is high fantasy worldbuilding. It's not just naming a power or whatnot. Gatton crafts a world in which the two philosophies it cherishes, as the very lifeblood of the island. They affect the way people live, are used by them to create other things, and whatnot. The earth - the rootwaters and wormwork, and the stars and prophecy magic. This world is so complex, that without the worldbuilding, this story could not be written.
[6] Writing and flashbacks, were really beautiful. No, not that's not. There are two things I want to talk about here. First, the writing was indeed wonderful, but WARNING, it is dense, like thick and sludgy. But it's beautiful sludge. It's sludge in which the weight of the fantasy world resides in, built and held together. This book might be long, but not a word is wasted (well I think Aefa the fool's daughter was a bit of a wasted pov now that I reflect back since I can barely remember much about her). Right from the beginning, we are given Gratton's beautiful worlds It begins when... - a world is unfolded in these words, as metaphors of earth and sky colour the Queens of Innis Lear. We get a deep feel for the island that should thrive by is barely surviving under the rule of King Lear, and of the daughters that the story is named for. Second! The flashbacks. I know some have commented that the flashbacks seem worthless, but to me, they were very important. They built up the story, laying foundations in ways that this story couldn't have lived without. And we are also treated to the last moments of several characters, unveiling to us as readers truths that the main characters could never show us as they never knew. And reading those parts would always break my heart, one more piece at a time. Without them, these characters would not have been as fleshed out as they were.
[7] This is a book that bonds females and those less privileged in expected and unexpected ways. It doesn't make light of them, and it is heartbreaking. I can't even explain what I mean except that it is exactly as it's titled. Just as King Lear was a story about a King and his story, this is a book about Queens who almost, who do fall short of a prize far too valuable to be lost. And it's not bitching ladies, these queens have deeply rooted, good reasons to fight for what they believe in.
OVERALL - for books similar to Three Dark Thrones, and for those who can handle HIGH FANTASY at its greatest, then this is definitely worth reading. But warning, it is a tragedy and this review barely even touches on the extent to which it is tragic. This is like a hidden gem, it's not the kind of book to immediately catch the attention of others or to hold onto audiences via its romances (aka A Court of Thornes and Roses, which, btw is not not that high fantasy), but it's the kind of fantasy for those looking for something deeper, complex, and meaningful. If that makes any sense at all, as if I haven't written all of the above in an attempt to make sense of my own thoughts about this!!
kerrycat's review against another edition
5.0
I hold Gratton to a near impossibly high standard so I fell into Innis Lear hopeful but unsure, excited but worried that my expectations were setting me up for disappointment. I should not have worried; this is Gratton, after all. While this is as devastating and intense as the play upon which it is based, there are some differences that make it more tragic and then again, a very tiny bit more hopeful (and I mean tiny). The last few pages left me in tears, as one might expect, but I didn't realize how much I was shaking as well. This is one of the bard's most disturbing tragedies for obvious reasons, and fills readers with so much trepidation over the very fabric of family as blood as well as an institution, over trust in love and loyalty, and the idea of self and selfhood, of destiny, of duty - and Gratton captures all of it with just enough difference (oh, Ban - I am shaking my head over this boy as I type) to make it her own. Extraordinarily well done.
*RTBR review (5 star GOLD):
This extraordinary and epic tale of family tragedy, with clear parallels to Shakespeare’s King Lear, has a life of its own in Gratton’s hands. The Queens of Innis Lear is as intense and devastating as the original, with a complex fantasy element that is beautifully shaped and chillingly real. Everything about this is stunning, from the writing to the characterization to the details that make this family, rocked by destiny, duty and disloyalty, come to life in all its complicated glory.
The wild magic of Innis Lear has been lost at the obsessive hand of Innis Lear’s king, whose focus on prophecies has made the isle and its access to trade routes susceptible to enemy attack. The king’s three daughters, as different in personality as sisters could possibly be, must take matters into their own hands even as their father refuses to declare an heir until a ritual can be performed. Waiting keeps their home in danger, but is that an excuse for the ruthlessness and manipulation that informs the destructive decisions of Gaela and Regan? Elia aims to protect her father no matter what she must sacrifice. Who will be queen, and at what cost?
*RTBR review (5 star GOLD):
This extraordinary and epic tale of family tragedy, with clear parallels to Shakespeare’s King Lear, has a life of its own in Gratton’s hands. The Queens of Innis Lear is as intense and devastating as the original, with a complex fantasy element that is beautifully shaped and chillingly real. Everything about this is stunning, from the writing to the characterization to the details that make this family, rocked by destiny, duty and disloyalty, come to life in all its complicated glory.
The wild magic of Innis Lear has been lost at the obsessive hand of Innis Lear’s king, whose focus on prophecies has made the isle and its access to trade routes susceptible to enemy attack. The king’s three daughters, as different in personality as sisters could possibly be, must take matters into their own hands even as their father refuses to declare an heir until a ritual can be performed. Waiting keeps their home in danger, but is that an excuse for the ruthlessness and manipulation that informs the destructive decisions of Gaela and Regan? Elia aims to protect her father no matter what she must sacrifice. Who will be queen, and at what cost?
therese_nook68's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
I enjoyed this book and I think that it did a beautiful job of giving King Lear a fantastical spin. Each character was complex and fleshed out with their own values and motivations. The relationships are also complex and it was hard to sit there and hate a relationship because there were so many layers to each relationship.
My problems with the book is that I can't really get into was the description. While I loved it, I thought that the descriptions took a lot away from the feel of the novel. I got a lot of description and sometimes it left a lot for the imagination and other times, there was nothing left to the imagination. It was hard.
I also didn't like that the LGBT representation, in terms of Gaela, was never explicitly stated in the book. The context for her seemed to change a lot and I couldn't read between the lines well enough to really pinpoint since the descriptions took away from it. Everything with Gaela in terms of her sexuality or gender was implied and I can't really see it as "representation" since it felt like a huge guessing game the entire novel. Which, I wasn't a fan of.
I enjoyed this book and I think that it did a beautiful job of giving King Lear a fantastical spin. Each character was complex and fleshed out with their own values and motivations. The relationships are also complex and it was hard to sit there and hate a relationship because there were so many layers to each relationship.
My problems with the book is that I can't really get into was the description. While I loved it, I thought that the descriptions took a lot away from the feel of the novel. I got a lot of description and sometimes it left a lot for the imagination and other times, there was nothing left to the imagination. It was hard.
I also didn't like that the LGBT representation, in terms of Gaela, was never explicitly stated in the book. The context for her seemed to change a lot and I couldn't read between the lines well enough to really pinpoint since the descriptions took away from it. Everything with Gaela in terms of her sexuality or gender was implied and I can't really see it as "representation" since it felt like a huge guessing game the entire novel. Which, I wasn't a fan of.
rachel_faerie's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
The only reason this isn’t getting a 1 is because it was technically written well. Like the prose was nicely done but unfortunately the characters were boring and the plot was boring and way too slow to hold my attention. Only reason I didn’t DNF is because I had the audio from my library lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
himalaya's review against another edition
3.75
I thought this was pretty decent. It’s very long though. by the end i was starting to feel the length of it lmao, and that's as an audiobook.
I don’t really have any familiarity with the original play so I was more approaching it just as any other fantasy book. It definitely did feel very shakespearean in the plot and how the characters acted though!
I thought the love-and-hate relationship between the sisters was really interesting! I liked ban in the beginning but by the end he was so annoying. Elia too, a bit. I didn’t really care about whatever was going on between them. I liked Aefa (the fool’s daughter….also just the inclusion of fools in medieval-esque fantasy. I feel like there’s not enough of them)
I did pick this up because I’d heard there was an aroace character. She is one of the 7 or so POV characters, the eldest daughter. Definitely one of the most interesting characters to me, definitely also plays into some stereotypes. She’s cold, brutal, and has a ‘heart of iron’ - it's clear there are other reasons for this, and she’s certainly not a one-dimensional character (also. i want this kind of aroace character sometimes) but still, something to note. That, coupled with the fact that she’s described as the darkest skinned (often in tandem with those other descriptors, being brutal, masculine, etc) makes me feel slightly uneasy.. Like I did really like her as a character but also I wouldn't necessarily recommend people read this just for the aroace character (partly just because it's such a large cast)
I’m not sure how well the story handled the Black characters in general tbh, but i can’t really make a solid judgement on that i guess. (I’m hesitant to read books by white authors with Black/biracial MCs regardless, wasn’t aware of this before I started it)
jrosenstein's review against another edition
2.0
I was 70% through this book when my library loan expired and I was totally fine with letting go. I liked it a lot at the beginning but it drags on endlessly. This badly needed a better editor. Gratton keeps rehashing the same character development points over and over again without advancing the plot or building on the world. Cut it down by a third and then we'll talk.
berenikeasteria's review against another edition
2.0
Recently I’ve been looking at more fantasy and sci fi books than I have for a while. I used to be into those genres at least as much as I am into historical fact and fiction nowadays, but I was just bitten too many times by poorly written offerings with lazy tropes. It became hard to know, when I went to pick up a book, whether it’d be a good read or the same old mediocre slush. I’ve been trying to cautiously dip my toes back in the water by being very careful about reading book blurbs, free samples, and other reviews before purchasing and reading for myself. The Queens of Innis Lear seemed like a sure bet. After all it’s based on Shakespeare, so it’s got acclaimed source material, and the reviews are largely positive. But in the end, I really didn’t enjoy it that much, and I’m not sure it was worth the purchase.
I should note that I’m not judging this book against Shakespeare’s King Lear, because I’ve never read it or seen it. Sure, it’s compulsory for every British schoolchild to study Shakespeare’s plays, but Lear just wasn’t one that we ever hit up (The Tempest, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and A Winter’s Tale were my school’s chosen selection, if anyone’s wondering).
At about 15% in, I was considering abandoning this book. Not that it was terrible, by any means. From the very start, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty the prose was, and that’s probably the book’s best quality, if you ask me. But at 15% in I just didn’t care about any of the characters. They all seemed rather distant and I wasn’t that interested in their stories. When I have so many books waiting to be read, can I really justify spending time on a book that isn’t bad but is just okay and doesn’t excite me? Well, I continued. If this had been another book I might have abandoned, but whenever it’s a super-popular book I usually feel driven out of stubbornness to carry on, partly out of hope that surely it must get better with everyone praising it to the skies, and partly out of the notion that if I have a very different reaction to a popular book it’s worth providing that contrasting opinion to fellow readers (and not being accused by fans of not having read all the way to the end and thus having an ‘invalid’ review, which is a fallacy by the way because if a book isn’t good enough to make you want to continue then that in itself says something valuable about its quality).
I can’t help but notice that a lot of reviews compare this book favourably to George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I don’t see it. The book is set in a vaguely Medieval fantasy world where the protagonists are at odds in their hopes to claim the crown – this could describe an awful lot of fantasy novels – and as for the writing style there is nothing of Martin in it. Gratton lacks Martin’s extreme complexity of threads, and she has a bit more flourish and purple to her prose than Martin. Again, I’m not saying that the book is bad – just that I find the comparisons to Game of Thrones to be misplaced and inaccurate, and that I found this book to be quite distinct.
There were, as other critical reviewers have noted, several points in the book which I thought to be unnecessary. The flashbacks were superfluous because all the present-day sequences established the character relationships without need for further explanation. Chapters have different points of view, and some of those didn’t seem to add anything, such as that of Elia’s maidservant Aefa.
But for me, the single biggest factor that dampened my enjoyment of the book was Elia herself. It’d be fair to call her the main character, based on the amount of page space she gets and her role in the story. I just found her to be very bland and given no personality beyond ‘good’. It was very obvious that the book was railroading me into sympathising with and supporting her, and the more the book did this, the more it annoyed me and I felt compelled to kick out against it. Simply put, Elia is boring. It wasn’t enough that she’s ‘a good person’. She felt largely passive, with hints of Purity Sue about her, and I thought her to be dull.
Spoiler
I couldn’t think of a more disappointing ending than seeing her win the throne.So that’s that. I just didn’t enjoy this one, although I think the prose is well-written enough to keep it from being a bad book, but in my opinion the story-telling leaves something to be desired.
4 out of 10