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thoughtsontomes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a solid second book. I’m never quite sure where it’s going. A strong mid level fantasy series.
jyotiasthana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
gridner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wanderingstories's review against another edition
5.0
Most were tiny, the size of her palm. They zipped through the room, cackling and shrieking, chasing one another. An ice spirit decorated a wall with frost. A fire spirit landed in the hearth, set a log on fire, and tossed it to another spirit. They began to toss it back and forth, sparks flying up to the ceiling. a water spirit rained in a corner.
Aratay has many different nature spirits but not the kind you are probably thinking of. Think of a ermine but it isn't really an ermine either as it might have wings and can actually fly. And that makes it an "air spirit" of Aratay.
I love the world-building, the forest/tree setting, the characters, the magic, just everything! I don't remember at all If I ever read such an amazing fantasy book.
One thing I love about the writing choice is how the same story is seen through a different character and how each one of them perceives it.
I love how each story connects with another - the synchronicity of it.
We have our main characters back from the previous book: Daleina, Ven, Healer Hamon and Headmistress Hanna. (I've got to say Hamon is still unmemorable to me and Headmistres Hanna reminded me of Merlin for some reason.)
We get to see more of Alet in here. She was towards the end of the first book introduced.
I love even the new characters that are introduced here: Naelin and her children Erian and Llor. Mrs Garnah who is Hamon's mother.
We see more of Arin, Daleina's sister, in this book. I loved seeing her more. She's just as determined than Daleina. Then not to forget there is Bayn the massive sized wolf who is the best guard dog in Aratay. And lastly someone shows up from the previous book but I won't mention to you who as that might be a spoiler.
The spirits in here are getting more bolder and malicious. Things are becoming more risky, changes are happening and Queen Daleina is trying to hold it all together.
I thought there was also a good mix of humour and a bit of romance in here. But don't worry the romance is in the background of this story.
"You live in this world. Your children live in this world. Therefore, it is your fight. All that remains is to determine what kind of weapon you have to fight with."
I can't wait for the third and last book in this trilogy. It's arriving next week here at my place.
Aratay has many different nature spirits but not the kind you are probably thinking of. Think of a ermine but it isn't really an ermine either as it might have wings and can actually fly. And that makes it an "air spirit" of Aratay.
I love the world-building, the forest/tree setting, the characters, the magic, just everything! I don't remember at all If I ever read such an amazing fantasy book.
One thing I love about the writing choice is how the same story is seen through a different character and how each one of them perceives it.
I love how each story connects with another - the synchronicity of it.
We have our main characters back from the previous book: Daleina, Ven, Healer Hamon and Headmistress Hanna. (I've got to say Hamon is still unmemorable to me and Headmistres Hanna reminded me of Merlin for some reason.)
We get to see more of Alet in here. She was towards the end of the first book introduced.
I love even the new characters that are introduced here: Naelin and her children Erian and Llor. Mrs Garnah who is Hamon's mother.
We see more of Arin, Daleina's sister, in this book. I loved seeing her more. She's just as determined than Daleina. Then not to forget there is Bayn the massive sized wolf who is the best guard dog in Aratay. And lastly someone shows up from the previous book but I won't mention to you who as that might be a spoiler.
The spirits in here are getting more bolder and malicious. Things are becoming more risky, changes are happening and Queen Daleina is trying to hold it all together.
I thought there was also a good mix of humour and a bit of romance in here. But don't worry the romance is in the background of this story.
"You live in this world. Your children live in this world. Therefore, it is your fight. All that remains is to determine what kind of weapon you have to fight with."
I can't wait for the third and last book in this trilogy. It's arriving next week here at my place.
noelishi's review against another edition
5.0
CAWPILE Rating: 9,42
Characters: 9,5
Atmosphere: 10
Writing Style: 8,75
Plot: 9,5
Intrigue: 8,5
Logic / relationships: 9,75
Enjoyment: 10
Another 5-star read from the author. I've loved The Reluctant Queen as much as I loved The Queen of Blood. The essence of the characters and the spectacular worldbuilding were exactly what I was expecting when I started reading this.
I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends, and I think it's quite unfair that people don't talk more about these amazing books. Renthia is a cruel world, but its queens are strong and willing to do anything to save its people. Not only does it enhance the role of women, creating strong, powerful and independent characters, but also shows how healthy relationships of all kinds should be.
Characters: 9,5
Atmosphere: 10
Writing Style: 8,75
Plot: 9,5
Intrigue: 8,5
Logic / relationships: 9,75
Enjoyment: 10
Another 5-star read from the author. I've loved The Reluctant Queen as much as I loved The Queen of Blood. The essence of the characters and the spectacular worldbuilding were exactly what I was expecting when I started reading this.
I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends, and I think it's quite unfair that people don't talk more about these amazing books. Renthia is a cruel world, but its queens are strong and willing to do anything to save its people. Not only does it enhance the role of women, creating strong, powerful and independent characters, but also shows how healthy relationships of all kinds should be.
thebackpackingbookwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a bit more than the first in the series. The characters (new and existing) felt more developed and had solid growth through out the story. I'm excited to see how this series ends.
writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .
And those spirits want to kill you.
It’s the first lesson that every Renthian learns.
It took we a while to get back to this series, even though I enjoyed the first book when I read it. It had been a while so I wasn't sure if I was still going to be into the story, but I shouldn't have worried, this ended up being just as good as the first book. That being said, it was a bit different.
In this book we are introduced to some new characters. I ended up liking all of them, especially Naelin. As another reviewer said, it was refreshing to have an older protagonist in this story, in this case a mother of two children. I liked her story arc and what ultimately ends up happening with her character. It was easy to predict how things would end up in the end with the queens, and who was behind the bad things that were happening, but that didn't ruin the book for me. With the way this book left things, I'm eager to read the last book in the trilogy.
On a side note- There seems to be a bit of confusion as to whether this is YA or not. It certainly reads like a YA book, and most people seem to be categorizing it as YA, but the author lists this under her adult category on her webpage, so I'm calling it adult.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
And those spirits want to kill you.
It’s the first lesson that every Renthian learns.
It took we a while to get back to this series, even though I enjoyed the first book when I read it. It had been a while so I wasn't sure if I was still going to be into the story, but I shouldn't have worried, this ended up being just as good as the first book. That being said, it was a bit different.
In this book we are introduced to some new characters. I ended up liking all of them, especially Naelin. As another reviewer said, it was refreshing to have an older protagonist in this story, in this case a mother of two children. I liked her story arc and what ultimately ends up happening with her character. It was easy to predict how things would end up in the end with the queens, and who was behind the bad things that were happening, but that didn't ruin the book for me. With the way this book left things, I'm eager to read the last book in the trilogy.
On a side note- There seems to be a bit of confusion as to whether this is YA or not. It certainly reads like a YA book, and most people seem to be categorizing it as YA, but the author lists this under her adult category on her webpage, so I'm calling it adult.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader