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A review by jennieartemis
The True Queen by Zen Cho
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.25
TL;DR: A queerer and wackier standalone sequel that fills the same niche of playful historical fantasy
The followup to Sorcerer to the Crown is equally sweet, and at points even better, with delightful humour when it leans into being wacky. The addition of central queerness strengthens the series' focus on diversity, with the romance cute if fairly background. It's still quite plot driven - although it covers issues of empire and social position, it doesn't explore them as much as I would like. Personally, I'm a lot less hooked by the actual twists and turns of the plot than the weirdness of the world and characters. If Zen Cho returns to this setting again, I'd love to see a deep dive into the bizarre workings of the supernatural societies here. But the two existing books make a charming pair, each with their own strengths.
8/10 in personal rating system
The followup to Sorcerer to the Crown is equally sweet, and at points even better, with delightful humour when it leans into being wacky. The addition of central queerness strengthens the series' focus on diversity, with the romance cute if fairly background. It's still quite plot driven - although it covers issues of empire and social position, it doesn't explore them as much as I would like. Personally, I'm a lot less hooked by the actual twists and turns of the plot than the weirdness of the world and characters. If Zen Cho returns to this setting again, I'd love to see a deep dive into the bizarre workings of the supernatural societies here. But the two existing books make a charming pair, each with their own strengths.
8/10 in personal rating system