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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
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
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
The revolution has succeeded, and a queen is poised to once more sit the throne of Maevana. Brienna now has to win the trust of the MacQuinn household, not all of whom are especially welcoming, prove that she is more than who her birth father was, and claim her right as Lord MacQuinn’s adopted daughter. On the other hand, Cartier returns to claim a House he has few memories of and struggles to manage the weight of the responsibilities that now lie on his shoulders. Isolde’s coronation draws closer, but before she can be crowned, there is still work to be done. Not all the Maevan Houses are fully in support of her, and the with the Lannons’ trials coming up, Brienna and her allies must keep an especially wary eye out for any supporters of the old regime who might lie in wait and quell any signs of an uprising.
Picking up immediately following the events at the end of The Queen’s Rising, this sequel was significantly better in terms of storytelling. For one, it didn’t give away any major plot points right at the beginning like the first book did. Things didn’t seem to come to the main characters as easily and the tone of the narration took a more serious turn in some places, which in turn contributed a lot to character development. Cartier, or rather, Aodhan Morgane, gets his own POV in this one, which was a really nice addition that gives a new depth to the narrative. Declan Lannon was an interesting villain, but it would have been more effective had he been introduced in the first book itself.
While I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see much of Brienna’s passion sisters from Magnalia, I loved the new character Neeve and her backstory, and between her, Brienna and Isolde, Rebecca Ross once again does a fantastic job depicting strong friendships and sisterhood. When it comes to Cartier and Brienna, in the previous book, I felt that their romance was odd, but it actually made much more sense in this one, and was even enjoyable. No spoilers, but I absolutely loved the last chapter – I knew it had to be coming eventually given the scene with the tapestry earlier in the book. The only thing that I found mildly annoying was how much detail the events of the previous book were reiterated with right at the beginning – enough that had I not read the first book, I would have still managed to understand what was going on by the end of the first chapter.
While I thought The Queen’s Rising wrapped up the story quite nicely, The Queen’s Resistance is definitely worth a read, because it’s quite rare to come across a fantasy novel that discusses what happens after the victory, the tough decisions that need to be made and what it takes to rebuild and establish peace across the land. I would not say no to a third book in this series, as even though everything seems resolved, I’m still curious to know more about these characters, but it seems to be a duology for now. Definitely recommended!
The revolution has succeeded, and a queen is poised to once more sit the throne of Maevana. Brienna now has to win the trust of the MacQuinn household, not all of whom are especially welcoming, prove that she is more than who her birth father was, and claim her right as Lord MacQuinn’s adopted daughter. On the other hand, Cartier returns to claim a House he has few memories of and struggles to manage the weight of the responsibilities that now lie on his shoulders. Isolde’s coronation draws closer, but before she can be crowned, there is still work to be done. Not all the Maevan Houses are fully in support of her, and the with the Lannons’ trials coming up, Brienna and her allies must keep an especially wary eye out for any supporters of the old regime who might lie in wait and quell any signs of an uprising.
Picking up immediately following the events at the end of The Queen’s Rising, this sequel was significantly better in terms of storytelling. For one, it didn’t give away any major plot points right at the beginning like the first book did. Things didn’t seem to come to the main characters as easily and the tone of the narration took a more serious turn in some places, which in turn contributed a lot to character development. Cartier, or rather, Aodhan Morgane, gets his own POV in this one, which was a really nice addition that gives a new depth to the narrative. Declan Lannon was an interesting villain, but it would have been more effective had he been introduced in the first book itself.
While I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see much of Brienna’s passion sisters from Magnalia, I loved the new character Neeve and her backstory, and between her, Brienna and Isolde, Rebecca Ross once again does a fantastic job depicting strong friendships and sisterhood. When it comes to Cartier and Brienna, in the previous book, I felt that their romance was odd, but it actually made much more sense in this one, and was even enjoyable. No spoilers, but I absolutely loved the last chapter – I knew it had to be coming eventually given the scene with the tapestry earlier in the book. The only thing that I found mildly annoying was how much detail the events of the previous book were reiterated with right at the beginning – enough that had I not read the first book, I would have still managed to understand what was going on by the end of the first chapter.
While I thought The Queen’s Rising wrapped up the story quite nicely, The Queen’s Resistance is definitely worth a read, because it’s quite rare to come across a fantasy novel that discusses what happens after the victory, the tough decisions that need to be made and what it takes to rebuild and establish peace across the land. I would not say no to a third book in this series, as even though everything seems resolved, I’m still curious to know more about these characters, but it seems to be a duology for now. Definitely recommended!
Loved it! The continuation of Brienna and the inner circles’ stories was seamless. This book is full of action, drama and plenty of twists and turns. The characters are wonderfully badass, each in their own way. If you loved The Queen’s Rising you will love this book even more. It is the end of the story for these characters which leaves you with a bit of a book hangover but 1000% worth it to see where their stories go after the rebellion.
I enjoyed this a lot more than the first one. Such an interesting book following the progress after a war has been won.
adventurous
Still don’t love the couple but it was an interesting read and overall a good series
this one was better than the first - although I listened to book one and barely made it through because of the reader's performance. I appreciate that it's a duology and not a long series - there are so many series out there (and I love many of them) but this story was a good fit for just two books, and the author didn't drag anything out to make it longer than it had to be. I still think the romance between Brienna and Cartier is a little on the creepy side but . . .
so SLJ says this is good for fans of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy and I'm wondering what book they read because PA is middle grade, and this story is definitely YA, even older YA. plenty of violence and reference to even more of the same, romance of an older YA/adult nature (although no sex), and very mature themes. Kirkus says for ages 13-15, and I'm like, why stop at 15? this has definite adult crossover appeal.
if you like Throne of Glass but want a complete story in a shorter read with the fantasy, romance, and drama of the same - this short but interesting story should do it. the language gets a little overdramatic at times (enough to be a little annoying) but the second book is better at keeping that at bay. I kept thinking of Shannara as I read it, maybe because of the stone (no fairies here) - but something about it reminded me of that universe.
so SLJ says this is good for fans of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy and I'm wondering what book they read because PA is middle grade, and this story is definitely YA, even older YA. plenty of violence and reference to even more of the same, romance of an older YA/adult nature (although no sex), and very mature themes. Kirkus says for ages 13-15, and I'm like, why stop at 15? this has definite adult crossover appeal.
if you like Throne of Glass but want a complete story in a shorter read with the fantasy, romance, and drama of the same - this short but interesting story should do it. the language gets a little overdramatic at times (enough to be a little annoying) but the second book is better at keeping that at bay. I kept thinking of Shannara as I read it, maybe because of the stone (no fairies here) - but something about it reminded me of that universe.
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
medium-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