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amyteurhour's review against another edition
2.5
Content warning: violence/gore, torture, death, kidnapping
I have spent the past couple months reading all of Ross's current works, and it's been a really interesting, unplanned/unexpected project. I didn't start out 2024 with a plan to do this (tbh I don't think I'd even heard of Ross until this year)...it just kind of happened lol. It's been pretty neat to see how her writing has evolved and her style becoming more apparent.
They all have similar themes but I did enjoy her more recent books a lot. I think if I had started reading out The Queen's Rising series, I probably wouldn't have looked up more of her works. I think this duology is probably her weakest, which honestly considering they're her first two books, is totally understandable. I would recommend either of the other duologies or her two stand alone novels if you're looking for something that has a bit of light fantasy/magical realism with a side or two of romance.
As for The Queen's Resistance specifically, I didn't love it. There were a lot of detailed descriptions of violence while still being kind of a boring read. The plot was intriguing and follows the aftermath of a regime change that happened in Book 1, but a lot of the action/change felt dragged out. I noticed a few inconsistencies and there were a couple lines near the beginning/middle that repeated almost like it was missed in the edits. I also didn't feel like the two romantic leads had much chemistryand I don't think having them spend so many scenes apart helped develop their relationship. At the end where they're supposed to be having this heartfelt moment, it just felt kind of cringey to me unfortunately .
I felt that the accents in the audiobook were inconsistent, especially the two young children who are supposed to be siblings...one sounded vaguely Australian and the other vaguely more British? lol.
I have spent the past couple months reading all of Ross's current works, and it's been a really interesting, unplanned/unexpected project. I didn't start out 2024 with a plan to do this (tbh I don't think I'd even heard of Ross until this year)...it just kind of happened lol. It's been pretty neat to see how her writing has evolved and her style becoming more apparent.
They all have similar themes but I did enjoy her more recent books a lot. I think if I had started reading out The Queen's Rising series, I probably wouldn't have looked up more of her works. I think this duology is probably her weakest, which honestly considering they're her first two books, is totally understandable. I would recommend either of the other duologies or her two stand alone novels if you're looking for something that has a bit of light fantasy/magical realism with a side or two of romance.
As for The Queen's Resistance specifically, I didn't love it. There were a lot of detailed descriptions of violence while still being kind of a boring read. The plot was intriguing and follows the aftermath of a regime change that happened in Book 1, but a lot of the action/change felt dragged out. I noticed a few inconsistencies and there were a couple lines near the beginning/middle that repeated almost like it was missed in the edits. I also didn't feel like the two romantic leads had much chemistry
I felt that the accents in the audiobook were inconsistent, especially the two young children who are supposed to be siblings...one sounded vaguely Australian and the other vaguely more British? lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Death, and Gore
nutmegandselkie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Trafficking and Confinement
bookrecsplease's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
My impression of the first 10%: looooooooots of info dumping. Just, so, so many info dumps.
There was so little going on plot-wise, I needed more direction, more stakes (if any), and more problems to solve or mysteries. It was just so mono-focused and stagnant. Plus, there was a huge increase in darkness/descriptions of violence from the first book to this one - that felt incongruous and like I didn’t have warning that it would happen.
I think it would have helped if the system of feudal lands was better established, making the setting more concrete and believable.
I found the action scenes to be really well written, but there weren’t many and there weren’t many stakes to drive them beyond the excitement of that moment.
There wasn’t any meaningful development or progress in the romance, or many other relationship, which was really disappointing.
For what it’s worth, I loved the last few minutes, though!
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Torture, and War
katelyn11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, War, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Physical abuse
openbookheartmind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Torture
maralaene's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book started off somewhat slow for me. Maybe it was the switch to dual POV, but it took me about 20-30% to really get into it. But after it started to pick up I couldn’t put it down.
I really liked getting to know more about Maevana and all of the different families. It did feel a little more gruesome and violent than the first book—par for the course with the villain she created. My only complaint is that I wish there had been more about the magic system-like what kinds of magic is there, is everyone’s different, etc—especially if magic is a requirement to rule. Overall a nice end to the duology.
I really liked getting to know more about Maevana and all of the different families. It did feel a little more gruesome and violent than the first book—par for the course with the villain she created. My only complaint is that I wish there had been more about the magic system-like what kinds of magic is there, is everyone’s different, etc—especially if magic is a requirement to rule. Overall a nice end to the duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Violence, Child abuse, and Child death
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Torture
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Apparently, April was the month for me to read sequels that didn't quite live up to the greatness of their predecessors. Le sigh. I loved The Queen's Rising so much and was seriously so excited to dive into The Queen's Resistance and... it just didn't thrill me nearly as much. Let's say that it had a serious case of "second book-itis."
I think one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to anything high fantasy, is when the second book is literally all about war or politics. This book was both. It was war, politics, and very little else. I hoped for more of the magic from the first book and maybe some of the romance as well and it was lacking on both fronts.
There were a few new characters that I was drawn to, but the story was stretched out so much with so many things happening that I lost sight of the people I was the most interested in. If this had been split into two books, I think I may have enjoyed it more? I understand that if it was planned as a duology, this sequel really needed to pack a punch, but it was more of a wallop.
I think I said something similar about the first book - that it felt like two stories in one. This book was the same, but maybe in a less positive way. Overall, it was smartly written and ended well, but it just lacked in a few ways that made it feel a bit disappointing to me. I think I'd like to read both books again in the future in the same format. I listened to the audio for this one and I think it added to some of my confusion.
I think one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to anything high fantasy, is when the second book is literally all about war or politics. This book was both. It was war, politics, and very little else. I hoped for more of the magic from the first book and maybe some of the romance as well and it was lacking on both fronts.
There were a few new characters that I was drawn to, but the story was stretched out so much with so many things happening that I lost sight of the people I was the most interested in. If this had been split into two books, I think I may have enjoyed it more? I understand that if it was planned as a duology, this sequel really needed to pack a punch, but it was more of a wallop.
I think I said something similar about the first book - that it felt like two stories in one. This book was the same, but maybe in a less positive way. Overall, it was smartly written and ended well, but it just lacked in a few ways that made it feel a bit disappointing to me. I think I'd like to read both books again in the future in the same format. I listened to the audio for this one and I think it added to some of my confusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Torture, War, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
sallenreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Confinement, Grief, and Sexual violence
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