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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Two sisters are cursed, and with the assistance of their high witch, they set off to England in the hopes of breaking their curses and finding out who the curseworker is. Meanwhile, England have been threatened by the Queen of the Unseen Realm as she believes the Sorceress Royal has stolen the Queen’s prized amulet, that she’s prepared to go to war over. The sisters find themselves in the middle of this magical drama, and attempt to navigate helping England from a potential war, all the while trying to save themselves from their formidable threat: The Great Serpent.
This book was a fantasy filled adventure I really enjoyed. Regrettably, I haven’t read the author's first book in this series, Sorcerer to the Crown, although they can be read independently. I wish I had read the first one, perhaps, for some character context.
I knew from the offset this book was going to be enjoyable, because the writing style was truly captivating. It illustrated a magical atmosphere that completely absorbed me into the plot, the characters and the magical realms created.
The settings in this book were fun. I imagined Janda Baik like a tropical island, and saw England’s Academy for witches as something like an old but adapted cathedral. Then there was the Unseen Realm, where Threlfall’s caves and the tree dungeons were easy and enjoyable to imagine.
I liked the characters in this book, particularly Muna. She was full of wit and moxie, which made her easily likeable. The other characters provided the story with a variety of attitudes and action, that made me as a reader fully engaged, but they also contributed to a satisfying pace, as character interactions was repeatedly used to move the story along.
The family of dragons were one of my favourite parts of this story. The dragon Georgiana was really awesome, as was Rollo, and I think I need a book ASAP on the Threlfall dragon family, because seriously, they have family drama that could definitely be developed into an independent story.
There were two issues with the book that did leave me sort of underwhelmed. Firstly, the inclusion of the Stapleton family. These characters, like Amelia etc., read as totally irrelevant to the central story. Especially during chapters 19 – 21, where the subplot of the Stapleton’s family drama was focused on. Sadly, this subplot felt chore-some to read, as it verged off and detracted from the book’s building climax.
Secondly, by the end of the book, I was disappointed with how the issue of female oppression in the magical world was handled. For the amount of mention of this topic, I would have liked some form of confrontation of the issue, because, whilst some of the female characters rebelled against their oppression, all they did when it was mentioned was more or less roll their eyes. It didn’t need to be anything major, but a witty, snappy and memorable one liner that declared women were quite able to do as they pleased, would have been nice.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a plot full of magic and adventure that I read over 6 days. I really, really wanted to rate this 5 stars, but with the benefit of hindsight through writing this review, I must rate it 4 stars, as I found too many issues that left me vexed in my overall feelings about the story. The True Queen is definitely worth a read because I did love it, and I'm already planning on pre-ordering my hardback copy :)
P.s. I REALLY think a story about the Threlfall family would be AWESOME! Fingers crossed this happens, I'll wish on every shooting star!
Blog | Instagram
*This honest review was possible through Netgalley providing me with an ARC from the publisher*
This book was a fantasy filled adventure I really enjoyed. Regrettably, I haven’t read the author's first book in this series, Sorcerer to the Crown, although they can be read independently. I wish I had read the first one, perhaps, for some character context.
I knew from the offset this book was going to be enjoyable, because the writing style was truly captivating. It illustrated a magical atmosphere that completely absorbed me into the plot, the characters and the magical realms created.
The settings in this book were fun. I imagined Janda Baik like a tropical island, and saw England’s Academy for witches as something like an old but adapted cathedral. Then there was the Unseen Realm, where Threlfall’s caves and the tree dungeons were easy and enjoyable to imagine.
I liked the characters in this book, particularly Muna. She was full of wit and moxie, which made her easily likeable. The other characters provided the story with a variety of attitudes and action, that made me as a reader fully engaged, but they also contributed to a satisfying pace, as character interactions was repeatedly used to move the story along.
The family of dragons were one of my favourite parts of this story. The dragon Georgiana was really awesome, as was Rollo, and I think I need a book ASAP on the Threlfall dragon family, because seriously, they have family drama that could definitely be developed into an independent story.
There were two issues with the book that did leave me sort of underwhelmed. Firstly, the inclusion of the Stapleton family. These characters, like Amelia etc., read as totally irrelevant to the central story. Especially during chapters 19 – 21, where the subplot of the Stapleton’s family drama was focused on. Sadly, this subplot felt chore-some to read, as it verged off and detracted from the book’s building climax.
Secondly, by the end of the book, I was disappointed with how the issue of female oppression in the magical world was handled. For the amount of mention of this topic, I would have liked some form of confrontation of the issue, because, whilst some of the female characters rebelled against their oppression, all they did when it was mentioned was more or less roll their eyes. It didn’t need to be anything major, but a witty, snappy and memorable one liner that declared women were quite able to do as they pleased, would have been nice.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a plot full of magic and adventure that I read over 6 days. I really, really wanted to rate this 5 stars, but with the benefit of hindsight through writing this review, I must rate it 4 stars, as I found too many issues that left me vexed in my overall feelings about the story. The True Queen is definitely worth a read because I did love it, and I'm already planning on pre-ordering my hardback copy :)
P.s. I REALLY think a story about the Threlfall family would be AWESOME! Fingers crossed this happens, I'll wish on every shooting star!
Blog | Instagram
*This honest review was possible through Netgalley providing me with an ARC from the publisher*
I've been anticipating this book for a long time, since loving the first in the series, Sorcerer to the Crown, and it lived up to all my expectations! The new characters were so brilliant, and seeing what my old favourites are up to was just lovely. This series feels so original and new, with the Malaysian take on Regency romances. Shout out to the Wodehouse dragon, too.
Completely delightful alt history but with magic fantasy romp, as expected. Charming and funny, plus gorgeous cover.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See this review and more on Books and Ladders!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
The sequel to the ah-mazing SORCERER TO THE CROWN, THE TRUE QUEEN has magic, mayhem, and strong female characters that you root for the whole way through. I loved seeing the old characters, meeting new ones, and being introduced to more magic in this than we previously saw. Cho has created a masterpiece of Fantasy and I hope you pick it up. The best part? If you haven't read SORCERER TO THE CROWN, you can still read this! There is enough explanation to get you through some aspects.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
The sequel to the ah-mazing SORCERER TO THE CROWN, THE TRUE QUEEN has magic, mayhem, and strong female characters that you root for the whole way through. I loved seeing the old characters, meeting new ones, and being introduced to more magic in this than we previously saw. Cho has created a masterpiece of Fantasy and I hope you pick it up. The best part? If you haven't read SORCERER TO THE CROWN, you can still read this! There is enough explanation to get you through some aspects.
4.5/5
I loved 'Sorcerer to the Crown' and I was excited to finally get to the next book in the series. When I read 'Sorcerer to the Crown' it felt like revisiting one of those magical stories that I grew up with and yet it was a new story that I was discovering as an adult. I was so happy that I felt the same way about 'The True Queen.' Zen Cho weaves together both beautiful, evocative prose and a fun, fast paced narrative into a seamless story that you never want to put down. I can't go into too much of this installment without spoiling some bits from the first but I can say that we get more of Prunella plus even more magiciennes. This story follows Sakti and Muna, two sisters who arrived in Janda Baik without any idea of who they are and where they come from. The story unfolds as they try to figure out who they are and get swept up in tensions between Britain and Fairy. It's a delightful romp grounded with beautiful writing. If you like fantasy, especially with badass heroines, then you really must read Zen Cho's Sorcerer Royal series.
I loved 'Sorcerer to the Crown' and I was excited to finally get to the next book in the series. When I read 'Sorcerer to the Crown' it felt like revisiting one of those magical stories that I grew up with and yet it was a new story that I was discovering as an adult. I was so happy that I felt the same way about 'The True Queen.' Zen Cho weaves together both beautiful, evocative prose and a fun, fast paced narrative into a seamless story that you never want to put down. I can't go into too much of this installment without spoiling some bits from the first but I can say that we get more of Prunella plus even more magiciennes. This story follows Sakti and Muna, two sisters who arrived in Janda Baik without any idea of who they are and where they come from. The story unfolds as they try to figure out who they are and get swept up in tensions between Britain and Fairy. It's a delightful romp grounded with beautiful writing. If you like fantasy, especially with badass heroines, then you really must read Zen Cho's Sorcerer Royal series.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was such a delightful companion book to Sorcerer to the Crown. It didn't grab me as much as the first only due to its lesser focus on our world as opposed to the Unseen Realm - which is not a bad thing by itself, just my preference! Easy 4.5 stars. I just want to grab Muna and Henrietta and hug them both tight.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cute and easy, but essentially trivial, and the whole reveal with the macguffin and the source of the main character's and her sister's curse/enchantment was obvious far before she figured it out, so I got impatient. The romance was tepid and boring.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes