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hginnett 's review for:
Long May She Reign
by Rhiannon Thomas
Actual Rating: 2.5 (Rounded up, as I was engaged enough to read in one sitting.)
Fantasy standalones are always tempting to pick up but, in practice, so often don't stand up to their serial counterparts. If you love expansive world-building, intricate plots and detailed characterisation, there simply isn't the word count to deliver on all three - especially when it comes to YA. Any romantic sub-plots are also generally unsatisfying as, again, there is no time or space to deliver anything other than insta-love.
Long May She Reign not only suffers from (what I call) standalone syndrome, but it also seeks to straddle two genres at the same time - fantasy and mystery - and consequently fails to adequately deliver on either. However, it's the ending that seriously left a sour taste in my mouth; it was anti-climatic, ambiguous, and the treatment of the killer was totally nonsensical. Cue rant...
As a result, I could never really reread this book. That is not to say that I hated it. I didn't. The book hooked me enough to read into the wee hours. The author is clearly talented enough to create a story and characters that swept me up and gave me feelings - even if those feelings were 90% frustration. Thomas came up with a wildly intriguing and ambitious premise and, unfortunately, missed the mark by seeking to satisfy two genres that require ample time and complexity while also trying to shoehorn in a half-baked romance. That said, all the ingredients were there, but the focus went on the wrong things.
The science experiments were cool in concept but deeply dull to read about, and constantly left me wondering why Freya (our queen/protagonist) couldn't hire a scientist to do the grunt work so she could get on with the actual business of ruling. The political intrigue lacked any genuine intrigue; I kept waiting to discover a shadowy plot or an unexpected betrayal. However, nothing was shadowy or unexpected. We were told the stakes were high, but I never felt the characters were in danger, and we knew so little about the country that I kept wondering why it was important that Freya was its queen; she showed little interest in ruling it for the most part.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book. As both a fantasy and mystery fan I was psyched to read a book that encompassed both genres. However, if you want a book about a young, inexperienced queen taking the throne in a cutthroat, political environment then Queen of the Tearling is far more satisfying. And the mystery would have been better served by another perspective, in a more suitable role, who could have devoted themselves to the investigation.
Given all these issues, it's a testament to Thomas's skill as a writer that I would definitely consider picking up another of her books in the future. (With only minor trepidation.)
Fantasy standalones are always tempting to pick up but, in practice, so often don't stand up to their serial counterparts. If you love expansive world-building, intricate plots and detailed characterisation, there simply isn't the word count to deliver on all three - especially when it comes to YA. Any romantic sub-plots are also generally unsatisfying as, again, there is no time or space to deliver anything other than insta-love.
Long May She Reign not only suffers from (what I call) standalone syndrome, but it also seeks to straddle two genres at the same time - fantasy and mystery - and consequently fails to adequately deliver on either. However, it's the ending that seriously left a sour taste in my mouth; it was anti-climatic, ambiguous, and the treatment of the killer was totally nonsensical. Cue rant...
Spoiler
Giving Madeline her freedom is completely about Freya's own feelings towards her, which seems a total backslide in character development, returning to her former self-involved ways. Her decision was not about honouring the victims (400 of them!) of the literal massacre. Seriously, how does Naomi feel about her brother's killer going free? In modern-day parlance, Madeline would probably be considered a terrorist, killing people to enact her political philosophy. Still, she made Freya look pretty, so I guess she can live her life consequence-free. I disagree with capital punishment, but I do expect justice, and Madeline's actions were wholly inexcusable. What is to stop her from going to the next corrupt country and massacring their aristocracy too?As a result, I could never really reread this book. That is not to say that I hated it. I didn't. The book hooked me enough to read into the wee hours. The author is clearly talented enough to create a story and characters that swept me up and gave me feelings - even if those feelings were 90% frustration. Thomas came up with a wildly intriguing and ambitious premise and, unfortunately, missed the mark by seeking to satisfy two genres that require ample time and complexity while also trying to shoehorn in a half-baked romance. That said, all the ingredients were there, but the focus went on the wrong things.
The science experiments were cool in concept but deeply dull to read about, and constantly left me wondering why Freya (our queen/protagonist) couldn't hire a scientist to do the grunt work so she could get on with the actual business of ruling. The political intrigue lacked any genuine intrigue; I kept waiting to discover a shadowy plot or an unexpected betrayal. However, nothing was shadowy or unexpected. We were told the stakes were high, but I never felt the characters were in danger, and we knew so little about the country that I kept wondering why it was important that Freya was its queen; she showed little interest in ruling it for the most part.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book. As both a fantasy and mystery fan I was psyched to read a book that encompassed both genres. However, if you want a book about a young, inexperienced queen taking the throne in a cutthroat, political environment then Queen of the Tearling is far more satisfying. And the mystery would have been better served by another perspective, in a more suitable role, who could have devoted themselves to the investigation.
Given all these issues, it's a testament to Thomas's skill as a writer that I would definitely consider picking up another of her books in the future. (With only minor trepidation.)