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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
Chima ends The Exiled Queen on a cliffhanger. Where is Raisa? Did she escape? Will she reach The Fells before Mellony is crowned princess heir in her place? So many questions!
Raisa is still my favorite character. I love her sharp tongue & her feminist character. I also like her transformation from a princess who has been pampered her whole life into a warrior who can defend herself. Yay strong female characters! I also liked the way she and Han interact - there's so much sass and sarcasm between the two of them. I love it.
I also liked the school atmosphere of The Exiled Queen (my favorite book series is Harry Potter & my favorite literary location is Hogwarts, so it's not surprising that I enjoyed Oden's Ford, with Wien House, Mystwerk, and the Temple School so much). I'm quite interested to see where Chima takes our characters in The Gray Wolf Throne.
Raisa is still my favorite character. I love her sharp tongue & her feminist character. I also like her transformation from a princess who has been pampered her whole life into a warrior who can defend herself. Yay strong female characters! I also liked the way she and Han interact - there's so much sass and sarcasm between the two of them. I love it.
I also liked the school atmosphere of The Exiled Queen (my favorite book series is Harry Potter & my favorite literary location is Hogwarts, so it's not surprising that I enjoyed Oden's Ford, with Wien House, Mystwerk, and the Temple School so much). I'm quite interested to see where Chima takes our characters in The Gray Wolf Throne.
3.5 stars
Overall this was a great book and an excellent continuation of the series. I love how Raisa's character is developing and I found Han's inner struggles especially interesting.
It does well furthering both Han and Raisa's story lines, but I felt the wider story was somewhat at a halt. There was considerably less action than The Demon King, and the plot seemed to flow nicely until they reached their destination. From there it slowed down.
If you liked The Demon King, chances are you will with this too. It can drag at times, but the writing is once again beautiful and captivating. I'm looking forward to continuing the series!
Overall this was a great book and an excellent continuation of the series. I love how Raisa's character is developing and I found Han's inner struggles especially interesting.
It does well furthering both Han and Raisa's story lines, but I felt the wider story was somewhat at a halt. There was considerably less action than The Demon King, and the plot seemed to flow nicely until they reached their destination. From there it slowed down.
If you liked The Demon King, chances are you will with this too. It can drag at times, but the writing is once again beautiful and captivating. I'm looking forward to continuing the series!
Holy Shiz-freaking-nipples..
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Holy Shiz-freaking-nipples..
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Holy Shiz-freaking-nipples..
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Omahgawd....
Deliciously awesome. Licking each page and devouring the content like cotton candy...
SO GOOD. GIMMIE MORE.
Five stars!!!
~ Skyavermore
Uhhhhh 4.5??
So it took me a hot minute to get into this book, not going to lie. The first book was a hard read for me, too, but I knew it had great potential if I could just wrap my mind around the world-building and story line. But I FIGURED IT OUT in this one!!! Ugh, it was pretty great, not going to lie. Once I got over the 25% mark, I couldn't put it down and I never wanted it to end, which was a good thing because this was no short story. I love the cut-throat-thief-turned-wizard-slash-honorable-person Han who had to keep his knives sharp just to protect himself. Dancer didn't show up too much after the beginning of the story, unfortunately, but he was still an enjoyable supporting character who keeps his head up despite the prejudice that he has to deal with everywhere he turns in Oden's Ford. And Raisa, man. She is a great heroine, strong and thoughtful, and far too young to deal with the political mess she's going to get herself into once she returns to the throne. She's not without her faults, though, and it seems like she falls in love with boys everywhere she goes. The classic love triangle appears, although it didn't rankle me as much in this story. I think it's because I always though the one relationship would never ever be possible and I'm totally proven right. I don't know. It just never felt right for them to be together. And then when she finds the second boy it just kind of feels right and she lets it happen, even though she figures out that she is in love with two guys, which happens, honestly. But she isn't fighting over which boy she loves and which one is right for her because she is the heir to the throne and she knows that any marriage she enters into will most likely be a political one. So really, she's just being a teenager. Maybe it's just me???
Things I loved:
-Queendom!!! MORE OF THIS PLEASE!!
-The LESBIAN RELATIONSHIP THAT IS SO CASUALLY MENTIONED! I'll have twenty! Seriously, this was brushed over so quickly that I almost missed it, but I loved that it was thrown in there to begin with. It's NEVER in fantasy series and I totally appreciate the diversity that Chima accomplishes in this series.
-The characters and their stories
-Raisa learning that love doesn't conquer all (it's a lesson we all have to learn...)
-DIVERSITY!!!!
-The characters going through school and throwing themselves into learning new things/bettering themselves
-The part where they cross from the queendom into a neighboring kingdom and they're all like... they only let MEN be priests??? So what do the expect the women to do, just sit and pray????? HAHAHA. No but really, the digs at our society were UNREAL and I LOVED IT. WHY do women have to be second best? WE DON'T and this book helps to turn society all topsy-turvy and it's great.
Things that bothered me:
-The lack of language involved in the story -- the readers are only told that the characters are speaking another language. We never learn any different words/phrases, really, besides English slang.
-The lack of SPELLS/CHARMS??? I wish it was more like Harry Potter in this sense, where we know leviosa means to lift something up. In this book, we're only told that Han says a charm and something magical happens. Ugh, language!!
-The abrupt ending. After hundreds of pages of slow and steady, the end comes about with a few different plot twists that are like.... uhh..... okay????
All in all, a tremendous story. I can't wait to get the next one.
So it took me a hot minute to get into this book, not going to lie. The first book was a hard read for me, too, but I knew it had great potential if I could just wrap my mind around the world-building and story line. But I FIGURED IT OUT in this one!!! Ugh, it was pretty great, not going to lie. Once I got over the 25% mark, I couldn't put it down and I never wanted it to end, which was a good thing because this was no short story. I love the cut-throat-thief-turned-wizard-slash-honorable-person Han who had to keep his knives sharp just to protect himself. Dancer didn't show up too much after the beginning of the story, unfortunately, but he was still an enjoyable supporting character who keeps his head up despite the prejudice that he has to deal with everywhere he turns in Oden's Ford. And Raisa, man. She is a great heroine, strong and thoughtful, and far too young to deal with the political mess she's going to get herself into once she returns to the throne. She's not without her faults, though, and it seems like she falls in love with boys everywhere she goes. The classic love triangle appears, although it didn't rankle me as much in this story. I think it's because I always though the one
Spoiler
AmonSpoiler
HanThings I loved:
-Queendom!!! MORE OF THIS PLEASE!!
-The LESBIAN RELATIONSHIP THAT IS SO CASUALLY MENTIONED! I'll have twenty! Seriously, this was brushed over so quickly that I almost missed it, but I loved that it was thrown in there to begin with. It's NEVER in fantasy series and I totally appreciate the diversity that Chima accomplishes in this series.
-The characters and their stories
-Raisa learning that love doesn't conquer all (it's a lesson we all have to learn...)
-DIVERSITY!!!!
-The characters going through school and throwing themselves into learning new things/bettering themselves
-The part where they cross from the queendom into a neighboring kingdom and they're all like... they only let MEN be priests??? So what do the expect the women to do, just sit and pray????? HAHAHA. No but really, the digs at our society were UNREAL and I LOVED IT. WHY do women have to be second best? WE DON'T and this book helps to turn society all topsy-turvy and it's great.
Things that bothered me:
-The lack of language involved in the story -- the readers are only told that the characters are speaking another language. We never learn any different words/phrases, really, besides English slang.
-The lack of SPELLS/CHARMS??? I wish it was more like Harry Potter in this sense, where we know leviosa means to lift something up. In this book, we're only told that Han says a charm and something magical happens. Ugh, language!!
-The abrupt ending. After hundreds of pages of slow and steady, the end comes about with a few different plot twists that are like.... uhh..... okay????
All in all, a tremendous story. I can't wait to get the next one.
This book is very Hogwarty. Teenagers from all different backgrounds come together in one place to study skills. Some study wizardry, others fine arts, others weaponry & battle tactics. They are all expected to get along (right uh huh).
Because of this, there is quite a bit of character development and not a lot of action. Like the first book, the chapters alternate sets of characters: Han & co, Raisa & co, which was still a bit annoying but at least we as readers know who each set of characters are already.
Because of this, there is quite a bit of character development and not a lot of action. Like the first book, the chapters alternate sets of characters: Han & co, Raisa & co, which was still a bit annoying but at least we as readers know who each set of characters are already.
I'm not the biggest fan of the cliffhanger endings, I'd have liked a small amount of resolution really. Overall this was a great read and both Han and Raisa have developed into much more likable characters in this book. Uncertain of what awaits me in the final book, but I look forward to it.
I originally thought [b: The Demon King|6342491|The Demon King (Seven Realms, #1)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1379482652s/6342491.jpg|6528619] moved at a very slow and descriptive pace in order to lay the foundations for the rest of the series. While this was true, [b: The Exiled Queen|7801229|The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms, #2)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1285276245s/7801229.jpg|9842102] still started off in the same excruciatingly slow pace, depicting Han and Raisa's less-than-memorable travels across the realms to Oden's Ford. They didn't arrive at Oden's Ford until Chapter 11 (where things finally started getting interesting) and they didn't bump into each other until Chapter 22 (22??!) more than halfway into the book.
Don't get me wrong, I do love the descriptive world-building and the whole [b: Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1554191954s/13496.jpg|1466917] meets [b: Harry Potter|3|Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)|J.K. Rowling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474154022s/3.jpg|4640799] vibe, but if [b: The Gray Wolf Throne|9409469|The Gray Wolf Throne (Seven Realms, #3)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312142235s/9409469.jpg|14293500] moves at the same slow pace, I might actually lose my patience.
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Average rating for the entire Seven Realms/Shattered Realms series: 3.63/5
Average rating for the Seven Realms Series: 4/5
My reviews for the Seven Realms Series:
The Demon King | The Exiled Queen | The Gray Wolf Throne | The Crimson Crown
Average rating for the Shattered Realms Series: 3.25/5
My reviews for the Shattered Realms Series:
Flamecaster | Shadowcaster | Stormcaster | Deathcaster
Don't get me wrong, I do love the descriptive world-building and the whole [b: Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1554191954s/13496.jpg|1466917] meets [b: Harry Potter|3|Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)|J.K. Rowling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474154022s/3.jpg|4640799] vibe, but if [b: The Gray Wolf Throne|9409469|The Gray Wolf Throne (Seven Realms, #3)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312142235s/9409469.jpg|14293500] moves at the same slow pace, I might actually lose my patience.
----------------------------------------------
Average rating for the entire Seven Realms/Shattered Realms series: 3.63/5
Average rating for the Seven Realms Series: 4/5
My reviews for the Seven Realms Series:
The Demon King | The Exiled Queen | The Gray Wolf Throne | The Crimson Crown
Average rating for the Shattered Realms Series: 3.25/5
My reviews for the Shattered Realms Series:
Flamecaster | Shadowcaster | Stormcaster | Deathcaster