A review by schnoebs13
The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
4.0
4.25⭐️
The one thing I can truly say about this series is that Sarah Beth Durst sure knows how to create a very vivid world. I can easily see every type of spirit she depicts and the formations of the all the tree buildings.
This story started slow for me after a very explosive first 2 chapters. Queen Delaena is not dealing with the aftermath of the Coronation Massacre, the beginning of her reign and what seems to be a mysterious and deadly disease. The main issue is that she has these fainting spells that mimic death which inturn allow the spirits to have complete control of themselves and attack the humans near to them. Due to this issue, Queen Delaena sends her Champions out to look for new candidates who might be able to become her new heirs and this is where we meet Naelin. She is a woman with two kids and a husband who just wants to live a simple life and avoid spirits at all costs.
The first half of this book is where I struggled a bit because of the pacing. It was very much a journey story just like the first but the dynamics between the group frustrated me at times. I understand that Naelin is a mother but you can't mother every single person you meet (but I understand that it's probably from her fear that those actions were derived). Once the second half hit though and Naelin started becoming who she's supposed to be beyond that fear and we got more time and the palace with Delaena (who I love!), I really loved the story. I ended up finished the second half pretty much in one evening. The final scenes had my heart racing like crazy and I can't wait to see what happens in the final book of this trilogy; especially with how that epilogue ended!
The one thing I can truly say about this series is that Sarah Beth Durst sure knows how to create a very vivid world. I can easily see every type of spirit she depicts and the formations of the all the tree buildings.
This story started slow for me after a very explosive first 2 chapters. Queen Delaena is not dealing with the aftermath of the Coronation Massacre, the beginning of her reign and what seems to be a mysterious and deadly disease. The main issue is that she has these fainting spells that mimic death which inturn allow the spirits to have complete control of themselves and attack the humans near to them. Due to this issue, Queen Delaena sends her Champions out to look for new candidates who might be able to become her new heirs and this is where we meet Naelin. She is a woman with two kids and a husband who just wants to live a simple life and avoid spirits at all costs.
The first half of this book is where I struggled a bit because of the pacing. It was very much a journey story just like the first but the dynamics between the group frustrated me at times. I understand that Naelin is a mother but you can't mother every single person you meet (but I understand that it's probably from her fear that those actions were derived). Once the second half hit though and Naelin started becoming who she's supposed to be beyond that fear and we got more time and the palace with Delaena (who I love!), I really loved the story. I ended up finished the second half pretty much in one evening. The final scenes had my heart racing like crazy and I can't wait to see what happens in the final book of this trilogy; especially with how that epilogue ended!