You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
As always with the Black Jewels series I was gripped, and for the first half of the book I was enjoying it a fair bit. Events in the second half however made me angry to read, with a stroppy, naive and manipulated teenager who never truly intended to hurt anyone, treated by everyone as if they were a villain. The fictional universe in this series has always been brutal with a very different morality to real life, but this was frankly a step too far for me.
YAY!!! The way this one ended I’m assuming there will be another book, *jumps up and down* you bet I will read that one too!!
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book gave more meat to the plot line surrounding Daemon and Surreal's marriage and gave more empathy to Surreal's state of mind. I found the absolutism of the Blood's protocol with regard to Jaenelle Saetian's behavior and ignorance troubling, especially because if how sheltered from her parents' past she was. I'm still unsure how ok I am with how this plot line shook out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Violence
medium-paced
I changed it to a 4 after reading the next one, lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Another 3.5 that I'm giving a four because Anne Bishop. I did devour this book. But the children's version of Terreille evil didn't hold the same appeal to me. The cruelty was too much and not enough. Also don't love the massive century jumps. RTC.
UPDATE: Full review at Sam's Beach Reads.
What I Loved:
Daemonar. I am a sucker for Lucivar’s oldest son. He is the best of Lucivar and Daemon combined, with a dash of Saetan mixed in. Daemonar is the equivalent of what I feel is probably the equivalent of 17 to 20ish, but he is a great balance of young man and sweet boy. Also, his relationship with “Auntie J” and then also as a Warlord Prince to his Queen is so wonderful to see. I love that Bishop brought back the Triangle, even if I still miss Saetan. Some of my favorite scenes are Lucivar and Daemon both guiding Daemonar in the ways of being a Warlord Prince, while also deciding how he “fits” in the Triangle.
Zoey and Titian. It’s about time this series has some more overtly gay characters. The Black Jewels books are very strongly character driven, and Zoey and Titian bring an adorably sweet element that is sometimes missing in this fairly dark fantasy world. Zoey sending reports to Daemon is literally the best thing ever, fight me. I also loved watching Zoey’s budding court as she develops into a young Queen. Titian featured well in the Queen’s Bargain, but here, she had a chance to shine. Titian and Zoey serve as the moral compass for young Witches, and set the stage for the next book better than any of the other characters do (that’s the end of my spoilers… all I can say is YAY!)
The Premise of “History Repeating Itself.” I know this is a less popular opinion. A lot of other reviewers noted that it feels ingenuine that Witch cleansed the realm of taint only three ish generations ago. However, in this realm that is hundreds of years. I liked how Bishop showed fetishist “memorabilia” collecting from the evil times – it reminded me of people who collect Nazi memorabilia and reminisce about Nazi Germany. Evil will always idolize evil, and the weak will always be led astray.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
The Pacing. Call me old fashioned, but the giant decades jumps in time drove me crazy. The beginning of Queen’s Weapons was slow, and was very much a reintroduction of the characters. The second half, which takes places decades/centuries later, felt like a mad dash by contrast. While I understand that all of the remaining characters in the book are long-lived (as compared to the original Black Jewels trilogy, when Jaenelle and most of her friends were short lived), but it was frustrating seeing these adolescents remain in adolescence for as long as they did. It makes me grateful we met Lucivar and Daemon when they were essentially in their 20s.
Jaenelle Saetien. The little witch (and not in a good way!) has become more insufferable in this installation, with deadly consequences. While I can sympathize with feeling like you are in standing in someone’s shadow, her behavior is frankly inexcusable. I really can’t fathom this being two of my favorite characters’ daughter. It was also unfair that she never really got to meet her namesake Witch during her formative years, when she could have potentially been a better person/witch.
The “Youngness” of it all. Honestly, the fact that the taint in Kaeleer is all from bored and evil teenagers, Mean Girls on steroids, makes Queen’s Weapons feel like a tamer installation than anything prior in the Black Jewels world. The teens are certainly evil, and they resemble everything wrong with the world before Witch cleansed everything, but I never felt like they were as much of a threat as the adults and systematic taint from the prior books. In one way, I liked it – I am a sucker for a good coming of age tale, and this is just that for Daemonar, Titian, Zoey, and Jaenelle Saetien. However, it isn’t quite what I search for in a Black Jewels book.
UPDATE: Full review at Sam's Beach Reads.
What I Loved:
Daemonar. I am a sucker for Lucivar’s oldest son. He is the best of Lucivar and Daemon combined, with a dash of Saetan mixed in. Daemonar is the equivalent of what I feel is probably the equivalent of 17 to 20ish, but he is a great balance of young man and sweet boy. Also, his relationship with “Auntie J” and then also as a Warlord Prince to his Queen is so wonderful to see. I love that Bishop brought back the Triangle, even if I still miss Saetan. Some of my favorite scenes are Lucivar and Daemon both guiding Daemonar in the ways of being a Warlord Prince, while also deciding how he “fits” in the Triangle.
Zoey and Titian. It’s about time this series has some more overtly gay characters. The Black Jewels books are very strongly character driven, and Zoey and Titian bring an adorably sweet element that is sometimes missing in this fairly dark fantasy world. Zoey sending reports to Daemon is literally the best thing ever, fight me. I also loved watching Zoey’s budding court as she develops into a young Queen. Titian featured well in the Queen’s Bargain, but here, she had a chance to shine. Titian and Zoey serve as the moral compass for young Witches, and set the stage for the next book better than any of the other characters do (that’s the end of my spoilers… all I can say is YAY!)
The Premise of “History Repeating Itself.” I know this is a less popular opinion. A lot of other reviewers noted that it feels ingenuine that Witch cleansed the realm of taint only three ish generations ago. However, in this realm that is hundreds of years. I liked how Bishop showed fetishist “memorabilia” collecting from the evil times – it reminded me of people who collect Nazi memorabilia and reminisce about Nazi Germany. Evil will always idolize evil, and the weak will always be led astray.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
The Pacing. Call me old fashioned, but the giant decades jumps in time drove me crazy. The beginning of Queen’s Weapons was slow, and was very much a reintroduction of the characters. The second half, which takes places decades/centuries later, felt like a mad dash by contrast. While I understand that all of the remaining characters in the book are long-lived (as compared to the original Black Jewels trilogy, when Jaenelle and most of her friends were short lived), but it was frustrating seeing these adolescents remain in adolescence for as long as they did. It makes me grateful we met Lucivar and Daemon when they were essentially in their 20s.
Jaenelle Saetien. The little witch (and not in a good way!) has become more insufferable in this installation, with deadly consequences. While I can sympathize with feeling like you are in standing in someone’s shadow, her behavior is frankly inexcusable. I really can’t fathom this being two of my favorite characters’ daughter. It was also unfair that she never really got to meet her namesake Witch during her formative years, when she could have potentially been a better person/witch.
The “Youngness” of it all. Honestly, the fact that the taint in Kaeleer is all from bored and evil teenagers, Mean Girls on steroids, makes Queen’s Weapons feel like a tamer installation than anything prior in the Black Jewels world. The teens are certainly evil, and they resemble everything wrong with the world before Witch cleansed everything, but I never felt like they were as much of a threat as the adults and systematic taint from the prior books. In one way, I liked it – I am a sucker for a good coming of age tale, and this is just that for Daemonar, Titian, Zoey, and Jaenelle Saetien. However, it isn’t quite what I search for in a Black Jewels book.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced