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A review by theespressoedition
The Queen's Resistance by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Apparently, April was the month for me to read sequels that didn't quite live up to the greatness of their predecessors. Le sigh. I loved The Queen's Rising so much and was seriously so excited to dive into The Queen's Resistance and... it just didn't thrill me nearly as much. Let's say that it had a serious case of "second book-itis."
I think one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to anything high fantasy, is when the second book is literally all about war or politics. This book was both. It was war, politics, and very little else. I hoped for more of the magic from the first book and maybe some of the romance as well and it was lacking on both fronts.
There were a few new characters that I was drawn to, but the story was stretched out so much with so many things happening that I lost sight of the people I was the most interested in. If this had been split into two books, I think I may have enjoyed it more? I understand that if it was planned as a duology, this sequel really needed to pack a punch, but it was more of a wallop.
I think I said something similar about the first book - that it felt like two stories in one. This book was the same, but maybe in a less positive way. Overall, it was smartly written and ended well, but it just lacked in a few ways that made it feel a bit disappointing to me. I think I'd like to read both books again in the future in the same format. I listened to the audio for this one and I think it added to some of my confusion.
I think one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to anything high fantasy, is when the second book is literally all about war or politics. This book was both. It was war, politics, and very little else. I hoped for more of the magic from the first book and maybe some of the romance as well and it was lacking on both fronts.
There were a few new characters that I was drawn to, but the story was stretched out so much with so many things happening that I lost sight of the people I was the most interested in. If this had been split into two books, I think I may have enjoyed it more? I understand that if it was planned as a duology, this sequel really needed to pack a punch, but it was more of a wallop.
I think I said something similar about the first book - that it felt like two stories in one. This book was the same, but maybe in a less positive way. Overall, it was smartly written and ended well, but it just lacked in a few ways that made it feel a bit disappointing to me. I think I'd like to read both books again in the future in the same format. I listened to the audio for this one and I think it added to some of my confusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Torture, War, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Gore