Scan barcode
A review by siavahda
A Tyranny of Queens by Foz Meadows
5.0
I am not used to sequels surpassing the first installments - it doesn't happen often - but gods, it did this time. I could not put this down. I swear I inhaled it. In some way I can't define the emotions in this book struck me much harder than in the first one; right from the opening pages, when Saffron is back at school and dealing once again with the disgusting Jared and equally bad, if not even worse, school administration, the emotion was ramped up to 11 and I was there, living every moment.
I adore how much and how well this expanded on bits of worldbuilding from the first book, answering questions and revealing even more, deeper and more intricate mysteries. The pacing is perfect, just the right clues dropped at just the right times for the reader to start putting the pieces together as the characters do. It would have been easy to make this a rushed mess, but it absolutely isn't; the story is slower when it needs to be, fast-paced when things are happening quickly, and oh, the characters. As if I wasn't already in love with them all after Stars! Now I'm officially head-over-heels. Even the villain/s, while I don't like them as people, are fabulous characters, and I love how well and how completely Meadows subverted my expectations and pulled a magician's reveal on what was/is really going on.
And oh, all the female relationships. All of them. Women being friends with women, women working with other women, women in love with other women, women respecting each other and helping each other and even, sometimes, being terrified of another... Which is not to say that the male characters are not also awesome: Naruet was probably my favourite addition to the cast, as much as I love Louis to pieces. And it was so fricken' great to see an autistic character! As someone who was only recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum, it made me tear up (in the good way) to see him not just included but featured. Kudos to Meadows not just for the inclusion, but for getting it so right; this is a character clearly written by someone who either has experience with, or has done rigorous research into, autism, and I for one appreciated it so much.
He's also just a genuinely fab character, even without the 'diversity points'. I just plain loved him.
I can't pick a favourite thing about this book, but I did very much adore Saffron's arc. She grew into herself in Stars, of course, but in this book she consciously acknowledged that and claimed it, and it was empowering and beautiful and fantastic. I was cheering her on the whole time.
And while I very much hope for more installments, Tyranny of Queens really wraps up the story perfectly. There's the possibility open for more, but this makes for a gorgeous conclusion that satisfies wonderfully. Either way, whether there'll be more to this series or no, Meadows had definitely jumped onto my automatic-buy author list, and I urge anyone and everyone to pick these books up if you have the slightest interest in fantasy at all.
I know I'll be snapping up whatever Meadows chooses to write next, for sure!
I adore how much and how well this expanded on bits of worldbuilding from the first book, answering questions and revealing even more, deeper and more intricate mysteries. The pacing is perfect, just the right clues dropped at just the right times for the reader to start putting the pieces together as the characters do. It would have been easy to make this a rushed mess, but it absolutely isn't; the story is slower when it needs to be, fast-paced when things are happening quickly, and oh, the characters. As if I wasn't already in love with them all after Stars! Now I'm officially head-over-heels. Even the villain/s, while I don't like them as people, are fabulous characters, and I love how well and how completely Meadows subverted my expectations and pulled a magician's reveal on what was/is really going on.
And oh, all the female relationships. All of them. Women being friends with women, women working with other women, women in love with other women, women respecting each other and helping each other and even, sometimes, being terrified of another... Which is not to say that the male characters are not also awesome: Naruet was probably my favourite addition to the cast, as much as I love Louis to pieces. And it was so fricken' great to see an autistic character! As someone who was only recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum, it made me tear up (in the good way) to see him not just included but featured. Kudos to Meadows not just for the inclusion, but for getting it so right; this is a character clearly written by someone who either has experience with, or has done rigorous research into, autism, and I for one appreciated it so much.
He's also just a genuinely fab character, even without the 'diversity points'. I just plain loved him.
I can't pick a favourite thing about this book, but I did very much adore Saffron's arc. She grew into herself in Stars, of course, but in this book she consciously acknowledged that and claimed it, and it was empowering and beautiful and fantastic. I was cheering her on the whole time.
And while I very much hope for more installments, Tyranny of Queens really wraps up the story perfectly. There's the possibility open for more, but this makes for a gorgeous conclusion that satisfies wonderfully. Either way, whether there'll be more to this series or no, Meadows had definitely jumped onto my automatic-buy author list, and I urge anyone and everyone to pick these books up if you have the slightest interest in fantasy at all.
I know I'll be snapping up whatever Meadows chooses to write next, for sure!