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A review by lindsayleigh27
The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3.0
Ok! So I am going to be super fair in my review here. To preface, I loved books 1 and 2 but book 3 was just ok. This is another just okay one for me but I still think I liked book 3 better.
The non spoilery parts first. I did like that we got more information in this book and Poppy seems to be much more self confident. I was getting tired of all of the "you ask a lot of questions" and "so inappropriate" jokes. They were still there but not near as much as in prior books. Poppy seems to be comfortable in her skin and is assertive which I loved to see. The pacing was a little slow at first but after 200 pages or so I felt like it picked up and I enjoyed it more. Even with my complaints below, I'd say this was an average book. It's not her best but it was still entertaining and had story development.
Now for the spoiler part and what everyone is talking about:
But, I did think the interactions between Kieran and Poppy were a bit too close for comfort. There was a lot of Kieran touching Poppy's neck, grasping her head in her hair, forehead and brow kisses, etc. A forehead kiss here and there as a sign of familial affection I think is fine but when combined with the other actions and Poppy sleeping in his shirt, it's weird. It gave me the ick. But, Cas seemed to find it normal upon his return so....whatever I guess.
Now the Joining. I assumed this would happen especially since fans latched on to it. I don't really mind the joining and I don't even necessarily mind the three-way. Blood sharing in this series is depicted as being hot and sexy so in the heat of the moment, I can see it happening and it doesn't bother me. But, the way it was written was confusing and weird. It's written as if Poppy's eyes are closed the whole time or she is blind because she doesn't know WHAT is going on. JLA, if you're gonna write a three-way then commit sis!
And after the joining, it was also weird and gave me the ick. Kieran is now spooning with Poppy and Cas when they sleep and Cas made a joke of Kieran possibly wanting to have sex with Poppy in her armor with him? So clearly, the joining changed the dynamic and made it an even weirder grey area. Poppy and Cas can't even decipher was Kieran is to them at this point so how can we as the readers understand?
I have no qualms with poly relationships or having threesomes in books or otherwise. But, it is weird to put this dynamic in book 4 of a series and for it to not even be well defined. Also, Cas gets pissy when someone even looks at Poppy for too long so this just doesn't line up with his previous possessiveness for me. JLA can do whatever she wants with this series: its her books, her characters, her fantasy world. But, I as a reader am not picking up what she's putting down with this dynamic. Will I read book 5? Probably. Do I hope she steers this ship in a better direction? Yes.
The non spoilery parts first. I did like that we got more information in this book and Poppy seems to be much more self confident. I was getting tired of all of the "you ask a lot of questions" and "so inappropriate" jokes. They were still there but not near as much as in prior books. Poppy seems to be comfortable in her skin and is assertive which I loved to see. The pacing was a little slow at first but after 200 pages or so I felt like it picked up and I enjoyed it more. Even with my complaints below, I'd say this was an average book. It's not her best but it was still entertaining and had story development.
Now for the spoiler part and what everyone is talking about:
Spoiler
Ok for the whole Kieran/Poppy/Cas relationship and emotional cheating thing. Do I think Poppy was emotionally cheating? Not really. It seemed like Poppy and Kieran were bonded by their love of Cas and working to bring him back. That I was totally fine with.But, I did think the interactions between Kieran and Poppy were a bit too close for comfort. There was a lot of Kieran touching Poppy's neck, grasping her head in her hair, forehead and brow kisses, etc. A forehead kiss here and there as a sign of familial affection I think is fine but when combined with the other actions and Poppy sleeping in his shirt, it's weird. It gave me the ick. But, Cas seemed to find it normal upon his return so....whatever I guess.
Now the Joining. I assumed this would happen especially since fans latched on to it. I don't really mind the joining and I don't even necessarily mind the three-way. Blood sharing in this series is depicted as being hot and sexy so in the heat of the moment, I can see it happening and it doesn't bother me. But, the way it was written was confusing and weird. It's written as if Poppy's eyes are closed the whole time or she is blind because she doesn't know WHAT is going on. JLA, if you're gonna write a three-way then commit sis!
And after the joining, it was also weird and gave me the ick. Kieran is now spooning with Poppy and Cas when they sleep and Cas made a joke of Kieran possibly wanting to have sex with Poppy in her armor with him? So clearly, the joining changed the dynamic and made it an even weirder grey area. Poppy and Cas can't even decipher was Kieran is to them at this point so how can we as the readers understand?
I have no qualms with poly relationships or having threesomes in books or otherwise. But, it is weird to put this dynamic in book 4 of a series and for it to not even be well defined. Also, Cas gets pissy when someone even looks at Poppy for too long so this just doesn't line up with his previous possessiveness for me. JLA can do whatever she wants with this series: its her books, her characters, her fantasy world. But, I as a reader am not picking up what she's putting down with this dynamic. Will I read book 5? Probably. Do I hope she steers this ship in a better direction? Yes.