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limleylom's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Could have been a 4.5 star read but the romance is messed up and not in a good way in a grooming way and it's not okay
He met her when she was 10, taught her when she was 14-17 and (oh good for him, he waited, how noble) til she was 18 to be with her???? NO.
Great story, great characters, totally unnecessary and uncomfortable 'romance' (can't even call it that really it's just wrong) and the story didn't even need any romance, it was just a subplot that didn't really add anything anyway... ugh
I liked Divine Rivals but this has really disappointed me. Won't be reading book 2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
jg34's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I love ms Rebecca Ross but this one was just okay to me. Fair since it is her debut. It just didn’t have me hanging on the edge of my seat like her other novels had.
What I loved:
-strong female characters
-found family
-well thought out world and backstory
What I disliked
-the book was not very exciting
-the romantic pairing (teacher/student/adult who met other when they were a CHILD only to get together like right when she turns 18 🤢/OBVIOUSLY unbalanced power dynamic )
The romantic couple was really hard to look past and I found myself rooting for Brienna to find ANY other man (or even better: WOMAN) but alas it ended how I feared. I would like to know why Rebecca chose to go that way as it appears many reviewers agree that the couple was unsettling. This wasn’t written that long ago. But overall a good book and I will definitely read the next one to finish off Rebecca Ross’ entire catalogue bc I love her
What I loved:
-strong female characters
-found family
-well thought out world and backstory
What I disliked
-the book was not very exciting
-the romantic pairing (
The romantic couple was really hard to look past and I found myself rooting for Brienna to find ANY other man (or even better: WOMAN) but alas it ended how I feared. I would like to know why Rebecca chose to go that way as it appears many reviewers agree that the couple was unsettling. This wasn’t written that long ago. But overall a good book and I will definitely read the next one to finish off Rebecca Ross’ entire catalogue bc I love her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
maddisaysmeow's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
kittybeemartin's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I am a huge Rebecca Ross fan, but this book automatically lost a star because of the problematic romance line (student/teacher + adult/minor). I know nothing happened until she was 18 but he met her when she was like 10 so….
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
nutmegandselkie's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Violence
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and War
haleymay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
cynic_reader's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
There's no way in hell themes of pedo, grooming, teacher-student relationship should be encouraged, even in fiction.
Calling 17 year olds "women," they're still girls for god's sake! Why would Cartier be her love interest, when he met her as a 10 year old and he was already an adult?! Why would a teacher date his student?! The patron and passions thing was ick too from the get go.
Rebecca Ross you're trash for writing this book with such themes.
DNF. Dumped this book at page 42 because there's no way I'll be ready any if that nonsense! I just had to write this review so y'all can avoid it. And if you read this book because you like the bad themes, then you are not fit for society and you belong in jail for being an enabler or perpetrator!
Calling 17 year olds "women," they're still girls for god's sake! Why would Cartier be her love interest, when he met her as a 10 year old and he was already an adult?! Why would a teacher date his student?! The patron and passions thing was ick too from the get go.
Rebecca Ross you're trash for writing this book with such themes.
DNF. Dumped this book at page 42 because there's no way I'll be ready any if that nonsense! I just had to write this review so y'all can avoid it. And if you read this book because you like the bad themes, then you are not fit for society and you belong in jail for being an enabler or perpetrator!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
camiandkitread's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
“The Queen’s Rising” is your classic YA fantasy story and brimming with rich settings and fantastical characters.
However, the seventeen year old female main character ends up in a relationship with her twenty-seven year old former teacher. They did wait to act on their mutual attraction until she had graduated, but it’s still creepy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
darkclouds's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Sometimes you read an author's work at the right time. It's not always necessarily their first, but it's an olive branch to take a step into their world they've crafted.
Fate allowed me to enter Rebecca's with Divine Rivals. In comparison to Queen's Rising, the quality in the writing is tremendously evident. Ross has crossed leaps and bounds to write the masterpiece that is Divine Rivals and the potential is there in Queen's Rising. It just didn't quite follow through with the execution amongst other details.
For the most part it was a slow ride from an academic setting, some mysteries regarding Brienna and her Maevan heritage she must suppress in order to keep safe. We triage into the next act with plotting to overthrow a vicious King and restore the Queendom it once was. I was grateful that Brienna was not drawn into the "Lost Queen" trope for I fear that would have put me off completely.
It felt oddly lacking in adventure and almost monotonous until that last quarter. I found no joy in the romance, although slow burn, which was formed between a professor (Arial) and his pupil (Arden). He met her when she was ten and having watched her grow up and then teaching her himself, just does not sit well with me.
In any case, I can see why people would struggle with this one. There's a staggering amount of history about the world to remember, many names and Houses, aliases and terms. It's a lot. The way it has tied up I'm not quite sure how there is a sequel. But I guess we'll dive into that one too.
Fate allowed me to enter Rebecca's with Divine Rivals. In comparison to Queen's Rising, the quality in the writing is tremendously evident. Ross has crossed leaps and bounds to write the masterpiece that is Divine Rivals and the potential is there in Queen's Rising. It just didn't quite follow through with the execution amongst other details.
For the most part it was a slow ride from an academic setting, some mysteries regarding Brienna and her Maevan heritage she must suppress in order to keep safe. We triage into the next act with plotting to overthrow a vicious King and restore the Queendom it once was. I was grateful that Brienna was not drawn into the "Lost Queen" trope for I fear that would have put me off completely.
It felt oddly lacking in adventure and almost monotonous until that last quarter. I found no joy in the romance, although slow burn, which was formed between a professor (Arial) and his pupil (Arden). He met her when she was ten and having watched her grow up and then teaching her himself, just does not sit well with me.
In any case, I can see why people would struggle with this one. There's a staggering amount of history about the world to remember, many names and Houses, aliases and terms. It's a lot. The way it has tied up I'm not quite sure how there is a sequel. But I guess we'll dive into that one too.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
anncastle67's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
This book could have been so good in someone else's hands. There is no character development, the plot drags but also happens way too fast at the same time. The author clearly has some daddy issues that needs worked out because the main character jumps from father figure to father figure so fast.
Not to mention the relationship with the main character and her teacher.
"He kissed the left corner of my mouth, the girl I had once been who he first loved..."
He was at least 22 and she was 14 when she became his student and they first met when she was 10. Not to mention she calls him "master" incessantly. Also the book goes out of the way numerous times to describe how wrong their relationship is, and they end up together anyway.
Anyway save yourself some time, don't read it. It's gross and the characters are all boring and one dimensional.
Not to mention the relationship with the main character and her teacher.
"He kissed the left corner of my mouth, the girl I had once been who he first loved..."
He was at least 22 and she was 14 when she became his student and they first met when she was 10. Not to mention she calls him "master" incessantly. Also the book goes out of the way numerous times to describe how wrong their relationship is, and they end up together anyway.
Anyway save yourself some time, don't read it. It's gross and the characters are all boring and one dimensional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship