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booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The traitor queen- 4⭐️ 3🌶️
Lara has only one thought when her husband is taken prisoner: I will do whatever it takes to set you free.
A queen now in exile as a traitor, Lara has watched Ithicana be conquered by her own father, helpless to do anything to stop the destruction. But when she learns her husband, Aren, has been captured in battle, Lara knows there is only one reason her father is keeping him alive: as bait for his traitorous daughter.
And it is bait she fully intends to take.
Risking her life to the Tempest Seas, Lara returns to Ithicana with a plan not only to free its king, but for liberating the Bridge Kingdom from her father's clutches using his own weapons: the sisters whose lives she spared.
But as Lara and her companions formulate a plan to free Aren from her father's palace, they soon discover that while it is easy to get in, it will be quite another thing to get Aren, and themselves, back out. Not only is the palace inescapable, there are more players in the game than Lara ever realized, enemies and allies switching sides in the fight for crowns, kingdoms, and bridges. But her greatest adversary of all might be the very man she's trying to free - the husband she betrayed.
With everything she loves in jeopardy, Lara must decide who - and what - she is fighting for: her kingdom, her husband, or for herself.
✨My Opinion✨
Betrayal
Exiled queen
Daring rescue
Great side characters
Political intrigue.
The action was non-stop, which helped a lot with missing big plot holes.
Some loose ends were tied up quick and off page, which I didn’t love.
Some loose ends were tied up quick and off page, which I didn’t love.
Now it seems like their story is complete and I wonder about who we will be following for the next 5 proposed books? Will this exhaust the series, being so long? I see that the brother is the next focus… I’m assuming 2 books for him too… then 2 books for the king’s sister?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Confinement, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Death, and Emotional abuse
elledanie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, Blood, and Death
Minor: Vomit
casideea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This was a fantastic sequel to The Bridge Kingdom. This story is jam packed with action from the very beginning. I had such a great time reading this and can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and War
Moderate: Vomit and Murder
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Gore, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, War, Animal death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Genocide, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
datskira's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A strong sequel! Character and plot driven with a good pacing. Plot is predictable, but you can't figure how or when the pieces will fall. A bit anti-climatic at the end, though, but it was an enjoyable read overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Medical content, Blood, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, and Gore
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is how you write a sequel…
Even though this book was already released it’s like DLJ read my gripes about book 1 and addressed them in this follow up…
My problems were 3 things (Aren being bland, he loved too quickly and the worldbuilding needed more) and each one of them was completely reversed to be more than what my expectations were.
Let’s start with Aren… I thought he was bland and too quick to love but ohhhhhh boy did that change this book. We got to see so much more of his character and how he made decisions and battled with the fact that he loved his country but his wife was the cause of its strife and how he had to deal with the turmoil of loving her… it was just perfection.
Then the world building, I think given that the stage was slightly set in book 1 it allowed this to feel deeper as we got to see more of the surrounding areas of the different kingdoms and the vast difference in their topography. You could smell the sea and feel the sand on your feet as they traversed the land.
Then what made this book really good was Lara and her continued resolve to make things right no matter how much she suffered. I suffered and cried with her as she went through all these hardships and it was really empowering albeit sad to read all she had endured.
I am sad to see their story end. DLJ has mentioned she won’t be returning to them any time soon but I am still glad I can live in the world with Book 3.
Even though this book was already released it’s like DLJ read my gripes about book 1 and addressed them in this follow up…
My problems were 3 things (Aren being bland, he loved too quickly and the worldbuilding needed more) and each one of them was completely reversed to be more than what my expectations were.
Let’s start with Aren… I thought he was bland and too quick to love but ohhhhhh boy did that change this book. We got to see so much more of his character and how he made decisions and battled with the fact that he loved his country but his wife was the cause of its strife and how he had to deal with the turmoil of loving her… it was just perfection.
Then the world building, I think given that the stage was slightly set in book 1 it allowed this to feel deeper as we got to see more of the surrounding areas of the different kingdoms and the vast difference in their topography. You could smell the sea and feel the sand on your feet as they traversed the land.
Then what made this book really good was Lara and her continued resolve to make things right no matter how much she suffered. I suffered and cried with her as she went through all these hardships and it was really empowering albeit sad to read all she had endured.
I am sad to see their story end. DLJ has mentioned she won’t be returning to them any time soon but I am still glad I can live in the world with Book 3.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Blood, War, and Murder
dkgreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Good gravy, this book stressed me out! From one high stakes event to the next, this book was nonstop perilous action. I felt for Lara as she tried SO HARD to atone for her mistakes. And I completely understood Aren’s emotional turmoil, but it tore me apart!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
theportalmaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed this book more than the first one. It had a faster pace and much more action; much much more. I like how they got together slower than what usually happens in this type of book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse
jhaneveauguste's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, Death, Torture, and War
_savannahreads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, War, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, and Grief