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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
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
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
charhollyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
A thrilling end to this part of the series (as I think book three is about two side-characters.)
I really rooted for Lara throughout this book and despite usually feeling irritated at reading a characters constant guilt-ridden emotions when they mess up, I found the guilt that Lara and Aren felt to not only not annoy me, but I empathised and felt their pain.
I loved these characters. I loved the sisters and Jor but I would have liked to see depth in other side characters alike those important to Aren, so that I felt his pain with him as he watched them go through pain or triumph.
A good decision to make the next book about Zarrah and Keris. Lara and Aren’s story is finished now and perusing those characters would only result in a boring book - I’m excited to see how book three turns out.
It’s such a vivid, well-written world with so much more to explore than just Ithicana.
I really rooted for Lara throughout this book and despite usually feeling irritated at reading a characters constant guilt-ridden emotions when they mess up, I found the guilt that Lara and Aren felt to not only not annoy me, but I empathised and felt their pain.
I loved these characters. I loved the sisters and Jor but I would have liked to see depth in other side characters alike those important to Aren, so that I felt his pain with him as he watched them go through pain or triumph.
A good decision to make the next book about Zarrah and Keris. Lara and Aren’s story is finished now and perusing those characters would only result in a boring book - I’m excited to see how book three turns out.
It’s such a vivid, well-written world with so much more to explore than just Ithicana.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, War, and Violence
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Much better than the first. Kind of wish the first never existed and the series just started here lmao.
Rep: female MC, side BIPOC characters, probable that one or both of the MCs have PTSD.
CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, colonisation, death, drug use, emotional abuse, fire, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content (stitches), misogyny, murder, sexual content, torture, violence, war.
Rep: female MC, side BIPOC characters, probable that one or both of the MCs have PTSD.
CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, colonisation, death, drug use, emotional abuse, fire, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content (stitches), misogyny, murder, sexual content, torture, violence, war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
fool_ofabook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Love this book even more than the first. The action was superb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Blood
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