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divapitbull's review
5.0
This review contains minor spoilers.
Instead of immediately picking up where "The Demon of Darkling Reach" left off, "The White Queen" goes back to the very beginning and tells the tale of how the original Tristan came to be possessed by the demon and in doing so paints a very vivid picture of what a demon is and isn't in this world.
"When a demon first possessed a human host, it took the initial step in a difficult and complex process that ultimately ended with the creation of a hybrid: a half-human, half-demon capable of regenerating and maintaining it's form almost indefinitely."
Demons being another species from another plane, are not inherently evil. The demon/Tristan hybrid wanted, if not love; then companionship and understanding from an accepting partner. And while demons may think more in terms of "need" and "crave" instead of love; they also mate for life.
"So long as it fed. The man-demon did not age as mortals understood the term, although with time it could learn to grow and adapt".
Which is where a beautiful love story between two emotionally isolated individuals, neither of whom fit neatly into the world around them; gets a little sticky...the whole "feeding" part.
As Isla said in "The Demon of Darkling Reach", "Lions hunt, and wolves, and I eat meat". But there's no getting around the moral ambiguity of Tristan's need for the "other" other white meat. Nor about what it says about Isla that she is willing to become complicit in her condoning of this need.
Towards the end Isla finds herself questioning what her connection to Tristan will ultimately entail:
"But - was it right? Was it moral? She didn't know. And then an unwelcome voice spoke from somewhere deep inside her mind: had killing Alice been right or moral? Alice, whose only
crime had been a fascination with a rich and handsome man".
At about the 30% mark "The White Queen" picks up with Isla on her wedding journey north. As the first third of the story was a study of Tristan's character; here we delve into Isla's nature further: her thoughts, her relationships with others and her past experiences. Isla is a fascinating character. I've always been a fan of the morally ambiguous hero; but it's rare to find a well written, plausible morally ambiguous heroine. Isla acknowledges all of what Tristan is and accepts her desire and choice to be with him without sugar coating it.
Along the journey Isla gains a clearer understanding of her family and she doesn't apologize for standing up for herself when she realizes their true nature. Isla grows into a woman who
will fight back instead of finding virtue in taking the higher road and turning the other cheek (and I like that about her).
Rowena: "You've changed"
Isla: "No I haven't"
Rowena: "Yes you have. You've grown cold"
Isla: "No, I've just grown up".
Rowena: "You were never cruel"
Isla: "You were never evil".
Rowena paused. "Now you're both".
Isla spoke without turning. "Yes, perhaps I am."
Left alone with primarily her thoughts for companionship on the arduous journey, she starts getting cold feet, questioning Tristan's motives and wondering if she didn't just jump at the first opportunity to escape an oppressive existence - at the same time she also realizes that there is no going back.
My only disappointment with "The White Queen" is that Tristan and Isla aren't reunited until the last 30% of the story. Initially there is a bit of tension as they are both insecure for their own reasons, but they resolve their issues quickly and Tristan makes it known he intends to give Isla a hell of a wedding gift:
"There is something I want from you. Something beyond a mere joining of the flesh".
"Will it...hurt me"?
"It will..." He paused, considering the term. Almost tasting it. "It will hurt, yes. But not hurt you. I would never hurt you".
As the story ends, the final installment in the trilogy is beautifully set up: Hart has sold his soul, Rose in on the menu, Isla is about to learn she is much more than she thought and always was, Tristan and Father Justin are cultivating a whole new relationship and one hell of a storm is coming!!!!
Instead of immediately picking up where "The Demon of Darkling Reach" left off, "The White Queen" goes back to the very beginning and tells the tale of how the original Tristan came to be possessed by the demon and in doing so paints a very vivid picture of what a demon is and isn't in this world.
"When a demon first possessed a human host, it took the initial step in a difficult and complex process that ultimately ended with the creation of a hybrid: a half-human, half-demon capable of regenerating and maintaining it's form almost indefinitely."
Demons being another species from another plane, are not inherently evil. The demon/Tristan hybrid wanted, if not love; then companionship and understanding from an accepting partner. And while demons may think more in terms of "need" and "crave" instead of love; they also mate for life.
"So long as it fed. The man-demon did not age as mortals understood the term, although with time it could learn to grow and adapt".
Which is where a beautiful love story between two emotionally isolated individuals, neither of whom fit neatly into the world around them; gets a little sticky...the whole "feeding" part.
As Isla said in "The Demon of Darkling Reach", "Lions hunt, and wolves, and I eat meat". But there's no getting around the moral ambiguity of Tristan's need for the "other" other white meat. Nor about what it says about Isla that she is willing to become complicit in her condoning of this need.
Towards the end Isla finds herself questioning what her connection to Tristan will ultimately entail:
"But - was it right? Was it moral? She didn't know. And then an unwelcome voice spoke from somewhere deep inside her mind: had killing Alice been right or moral? Alice, whose only
crime had been a fascination with a rich and handsome man".
At about the 30% mark "The White Queen" picks up with Isla on her wedding journey north. As the first third of the story was a study of Tristan's character; here we delve into Isla's nature further: her thoughts, her relationships with others and her past experiences. Isla is a fascinating character. I've always been a fan of the morally ambiguous hero; but it's rare to find a well written, plausible morally ambiguous heroine. Isla acknowledges all of what Tristan is and accepts her desire and choice to be with him without sugar coating it.
Along the journey Isla gains a clearer understanding of her family and she doesn't apologize for standing up for herself when she realizes their true nature. Isla grows into a woman who
will fight back instead of finding virtue in taking the higher road and turning the other cheek (and I like that about her).
Rowena: "You've changed"
Isla: "No I haven't"
Rowena: "Yes you have. You've grown cold"
Isla: "No, I've just grown up".
Rowena: "You were never cruel"
Isla: "You were never evil".
Rowena paused. "Now you're both".
Isla spoke without turning. "Yes, perhaps I am."
Left alone with primarily her thoughts for companionship on the arduous journey, she starts getting cold feet, questioning Tristan's motives and wondering if she didn't just jump at the first opportunity to escape an oppressive existence - at the same time she also realizes that there is no going back.
My only disappointment with "The White Queen" is that Tristan and Isla aren't reunited until the last 30% of the story. Initially there is a bit of tension as they are both insecure for their own reasons, but they resolve their issues quickly and Tristan makes it known he intends to give Isla a hell of a wedding gift:
"There is something I want from you. Something beyond a mere joining of the flesh".
"Will it...hurt me"?
"It will..." He paused, considering the term. Almost tasting it. "It will hurt, yes. But not hurt you. I would never hurt you".
As the story ends, the final installment in the trilogy is beautifully set up: Hart has sold his soul, Rose in on the menu, Isla is about to learn she is much more than she thought and always was, Tristan and Father Justin are cultivating a whole new relationship and one hell of a storm is coming!!!!
juliamaria1999's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alexperc_92's review
4.0
I'd say it was good but the plot felt even slower.
I still fear that Isla bargained for more that she could stand...
I still fear that Isla bargained for more that she could stand...
katielauren58's review
4.0
The White Queen, starts off with tristans pov, long before the events of the demon of darkling reach. After this, we get onto Isla’s pov, whilst travelling up north for her wedding, honestly i think this part of the book dragged a bit too much, as it last around half the book and could’ve been cut down easily.
I still really enjoy the books, and believe that Tristan is a great villain to love, and i’m looking forward to the next book
I still really enjoy the books, and believe that Tristan is a great villain to love, and i’m looking forward to the next book
thanaetos's review
3.0
“Don’t take life too seriously, it’s not like you’re getting out alive.”
hmm i’m gonna give this a 3.5/5. it wasn’t what i expected out of book 2. some parts i really liked, some parts i didn’t care for. but overall, still excited to continue reading this series. ON TO THE NEXT ONE.
hmm i’m gonna give this a 3.5/5. it wasn’t what i expected out of book 2. some parts i really liked, some parts i didn’t care for. but overall, still excited to continue reading this series. ON TO THE NEXT ONE.
codexmendoza's review
1.0
It's too bad I love the setting of this series, because everything else about it is terrible. This is a book where a woman loses every little bit of her autonomy. Its saving grace might be that she recognizes this, but for a book that wears its feminism on its sleeve, it's really fucking gross. Plus, it doubles down on the whole "all other women are bitches" aspect of the first novel and many of the women behave in entirely contradictory ways just so they can be randomly mean to the put upon protagonist for manufactured drama. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I give up. I'm going to go read some Tamora Pierce or something.
I give up. I'm going to go read some Tamora Pierce or something.
bailsreads's review
4.0
How do I explain this book? It is so utterly different than anything else I've read.
I love the history and the clear research into the time period- both The White Queen and The Demon of Darkling Reach were chock-full of interesting details that showed how well this author knows the period. It was like nothing I've ever read before.
Even the narrative is different; I expected to get straight into the story, where we left off with Isla and Tristan's romance, but instead, we get Tristan's backstory for at least the first 1/3, then we are bounced back and forth between Isla and Tristan as the clan travels to Caer Addanc.
I think this would be better marketed as a dark fantasy rather than a romance. While I enjoyed the spectacular world building and Tristan's history, I was left rather unsatisfied with the romance between him and Isla. Furthermore, I read a spoiler which made me utterly nauseous and forced me to end the series here.
Yet, I loved the darkness that was contained within this book. It fascinated me and it made me question my own morals. Along with the clear philosophical and political undercurrents that kept this book moving, the history of the time period enraptured me while reading. While chunks of the first book felt like an information dump, I appreciated the context that the history brought to the story in this second book of the series.
I'm disappointed that I won't be moving on with the third and fourth book, but I ultimately started this for the romance, and since the romance contains the one thing I won't force myself to stomach, I will have to let it go. I will highly recommend the first two books to anyone who is interested in dark fantasy and morally questionable characters, but I will unfortunately have to steer them away from finishing the series. Boo.
I love the history and the clear research into the time period- both The White Queen and The Demon of Darkling Reach were chock-full of interesting details that showed how well this author knows the period. It was like nothing I've ever read before.
Even the narrative is different; I expected to get straight into the story, where we left off with Isla and Tristan's romance, but instead, we get Tristan's backstory for at least the first 1/3, then we are bounced back and forth between Isla and Tristan as the clan travels to Caer Addanc.
I think this would be better marketed as a dark fantasy rather than a romance. While I enjoyed the spectacular world building and Tristan's history, I was left rather unsatisfied with the romance between him and Isla. Furthermore, I read a spoiler
Spoiler
that Tristan eventually sleeps with Rowena, Isla's sister, in the fourth bookYet, I loved the darkness that was contained within this book. It fascinated me and it made me question my own morals. Along with the clear philosophical and political undercurrents that kept this book moving, the history of the time period enraptured me while reading. While chunks of the first book felt like an information dump, I appreciated the context that the history brought to the story in this second book of the series.
I'm disappointed that I won't be moving on with the third and fourth book, but I ultimately started this for the romance, and since the romance contains the one thing I won't force myself to stomach,
Spoiler
cheating, especially with a family member,meagan01's review
3.0
I'm lying if I say I liked the characters or their development but the storytelling was really good
koops333's review
3.0
2.75
oh this poor dumb girl. She walked her ass right into that cage, called it gilded, and threw away the key.
She seemed to come to her senses a bit while she had time away from him and actually thought about the consequences, but the second they get a little lusty thats all out the window. By the time she learns that lust does not equate love she won't even have a choice to walk away-hes already in her head.
I also really hated this 'i've already come this far mentality'. I get that at that point she really only had her brother left (and not even then as he was moving in a different direction) but I felt so trapped just reading it.
Oh yay I get to live a long life as a slave who's thoughts will never be their own, and eventually I won't even HAVE thoughts of my own. wohoo :/
oh this poor dumb girl. She walked her ass right into that cage, called it gilded, and threw away the key.
She seemed to come to her senses a bit while she had time away from him and actually thought about the consequences, but the second they get a little lusty thats all out the window. By the time she learns that lust does not equate love she won't even have a choice to walk away-hes already in her head.
I also really hated this 'i've already come this far mentality'. I get that at that point she really only had her brother left (and not even then as he was moving in a different direction) but I felt so trapped just reading it.
Oh yay I get to live a long life as a slave who's thoughts will never be their own, and eventually I won't even HAVE thoughts of my own. wohoo :/