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claire_loves_books's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the first book but this one not so much. Tristan is a pretty unpleasant character- he seems obsessed by Vianne rather than in love and his desire to murder people for no real reason is a bit psycho. The book also feels fairly repetitive- Tristan and Vianne's relationship doesn't change much for the vast majority and it's a bit dull to read.
The writing was also a bit to stylised and fake french/fantasy, Tristan got a bit amateur philosopher with lots of short disjointed sentences.
The writing was also a bit to stylised and fake french/fantasy, Tristan got a bit amateur philosopher with lots of short disjointed sentences.
yvsmovingcastle's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh. What to say? I think that if you mashed the Bandit King and Hedgewitch Queen together and took it out of 1st person POV, it might make for a decent read. Whereas Vianne was annoying in the first book, Tristan was just downright creepy and abusive and not at all likeable in the the Bandit King. His obsession with her is his justification for literally EVERYTHING he's ever done at court, for like, a decade. He's pretty much an abusive, possessive stalker. And this is supposed to be romance?! It's just so disappointing because I thought relatively well of Tristan in THQ, probably because I wasn't in his head. Again, 1st person POV was a bad idea for this character. FYI and trigger warning, he also pretty much rapes Vianne at one point and justify's it...somehow?? I don't know.
And Vianne! Like, wtf is going on with her? We never find out because it's Tristan's POV and they hardly ever talk because she's got PLANS and is hieing off to all corners of the country. She just seemed so out of step with her character in tTHQ and you never get to see the progression in between.
The last chapter was decent and showed more of the redemption of Tristan that I expected to see. If that had come right after THQ, it might not have been quite so bad. Unfortunately there was the other 98% of the novel between those two points.
And Vianne! Like, wtf is going on with her? We never find out because it's Tristan's POV and they hardly ever talk because she's got PLANS and is hieing off to all corners of the country. She just seemed so out of step with her character in tTHQ and you never get to see the progression in between.
The last chapter was decent and showed more of the redemption of Tristan that I expected to see. If that had come right after THQ, it might not have been quite so bad. Unfortunately there was the other 98% of the novel between those two points.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
5.0
Very well done indeed, and kept me in the story despite utter disgust towards a well crafted loathsome.
myth's review against another edition
1.0
I reviewed [b: The Hedgewitch Queen|11287858|The Hedgewitch Queen (Romances of Arquitaine, #1 )|Lilith Saintcrow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319587813s/11287858.jpg|16215244] earlier. I liked it. A lot. I saw a lot of things for Ms. Saintcrow to play with in the next book. I mentioned many things I loved about it.
This book took them all away. I was angry when I finished this book. It made me think even less of Tristan (and it was from his point of view). It made me think less of Vianne too, at the end.
I cannot even describe to you how angry and disappointed I was. Am. Will be? I might read it again and see if I like it better a second time (it's been known to happen) but not for a while. Because this just...
Other people might like it. Other people might actually love it. But it hit my squick buttons in a major way at multiple points, and I am therefore not capable of judging impartially. I really disliked this book.
1.5/5. I'm sorry, Ms. Saintcrow, I have at least liked every single other book of yours I have read, but Tristan made me angry with what he did to Vianne and everyone else, Vianne made me angry because she went all irresponsible at the end, and that they got together at all at the end (given what kind of person he was, and what he did to her specifically) made me nearly unintelligible in my upset.
In conclusion, world: stop trying to sell me on the idea that obsession is love, and that love itself is enough to get your relationship through anything. And Tristan might be my least favorite character in all literature, because whatever Edward Cullen did, he never raped his 'love' and got away with it scott free or was responsible for the death of her best friend/cousin with only a teensy bit of regret.
This book took them all away. I was angry when I finished this book. It made me think even less of Tristan (and it was from his point of view). It made me think less of Vianne too, at the end.
I cannot even describe to you how angry and disappointed I was. Am. Will be? I might read it again and see if I like it better a second time (it's been known to happen) but not for a while. Because this just...
Other people might like it. Other people might actually love it. But it hit my squick buttons in a major way at multiple points, and I am therefore not capable of judging impartially. I really disliked this book.
1.5/5. I'm sorry, Ms. Saintcrow, I have at least liked every single other book of yours I have read, but Tristan made me angry with what he did to Vianne and everyone else, Vianne made me angry because she went all irresponsible at the end, and that they got together at all at the end (given what kind of person he was, and what he did to her specifically) made me nearly unintelligible in my upset.
In conclusion, world: stop trying to sell me on the idea that obsession is love, and that love itself is enough to get your relationship through anything. And Tristan might be my least favorite character in all literature, because whatever Edward Cullen did, he never raped his 'love' and got away with it scott free or was responsible for the death of her best friend/cousin with only a teensy bit of regret.
melmur3's review
2.0
I did not enjoy this followup as much as the original, primarily because I did not sympathize with, or even agree with the motives of Tristan. I definitely found myself thinking again and again that Viane could do much better, and that Tristan was too obsessed with protecting Viane from the truth of his hand in the king's assassination.
classicista's review
3.0
I think I understand what the author was trying to do. I just found this to be a really difficult book to read. The tonal quality of the prose was so dark I felt like I was under a figurative cloud the entire time. In the end, I don't think he deserved her, and the fact that he didn't think he deserved her doesn't redeem him in the least.
rosin1's review
4.0
Though it had the happy ending I was asking for, it still left me feeling kinda unsatisfied.