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A review by inkwellshadows
The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine
3.0
This story is a Snow White retelling, where Lorelai is “Snow White” and she has magical powers. Her step-mother also has these powers, they’re the same type of magic-wielder except Irina uses her magic for power, for greed. Lorelai was nearly killed by Irina as a child, and she escaped and over the nine years in exile she mastered her powers and decided she was ready to take on Irina. Along the way she meets Kol, the new King of Eldr, who is sent by Irina to kill Lorelai, in exchange for her help with his kingdom. The two of them unexpectedly fall in love as Lorelai strives to bring down Irina and take the throne that is rightfully hers.
I was lucky to have gotten an ARC copy from a friend on twitter so I could read and review this book, as it was on my TBR. I was disappointed however, and this might just be the first mostly negative review I’ve written yet. It had a good premise and great story potential, but I felt there was something wrong with the execution of the characters and world building.
As I began to read The Shadow Queen, I found that it was missing a few things. I felt that a lot of the background of this novel was skipped over. It was as if I was thrown into this world without being given much knowledge of the magic, the characters, or really the high fantasy word I was introduced to. In other words, this book seemed to be all plot.
In my opinion, however, the plot was what made the book and it’s why I didn’t rate The Shadow Queen lower than three stars. I felt that the storyline was very interesting, intricate, and well thought out and linked back to the original Snow White story in a creative, new way. It was just hard to follow along when I felt there were things missing. For example, one of the characters to me was very flat. That was Prince/King Kol. He was introduced to us as kind of a party boy, but within two chapters he was suddenly this responsible, mature person. It was an odd transition, even considering what caused the transition, and I felt throughout the novel I could not connect with him because I didn’t get that character build up in the beginning of the book that you need in every novel, nor did he have any character development where he changed over the coarse of the novel.
And then there was Lorelai. Lorelai had some depth to her; I saw her change over the course of the novel and grow, but I thought she was a little TOO perfect. I have come across the term “mary sue” multiple times in my life, and I personally have never thought it was possible that I would ever use it to describe a character. Yet, I feel that Lorelai is somewhat of a Mary Sue. She is the “perfect” princess; intelligent, kind, and very powerful. She barely had any flaws and won every single battle without many drawbacks. It annoyed me that she didn’t reach any barriers or issues with her goals.
The only thing that I actually enjoyed was the plot of this book. I like the magic and Lorelai’s story, Irina’s story and why the two of them are in this battle for the throne. The author, also, was not afraid to cause you pain and rip out your heart, which is something I like even if it hurts. This story made me laugh, smile, even shed a small tear. It could have been much more emotional for me though, if it had been executed correctly.
This book ended in a way so that there were no cliffhangers and no loose ends, which is why I was surprised to find out The Shadow Queen will be part of a series. I feel as if there’s not much story left for these characters and I wish this novel had been dragged out into two books. It is a wonderful idea and story, it’s just missing details and should have been executed better. I’m not sure if I will read the sequel; I suppose I will if I get to learn more about the world, the history, the magic and if there is more character development.
Anyways, if you liked the Lunar Chronicles, you would most likely enjoy this book. It reminded me a lot of TLC and as much as I was disappointed by the fact The Shadow Queen was missing a lot of things, I would recommend this book. It’s a quick, easy read for those who enjoy magic, action, and romance. (review from morrisareads.wordpress.com)
I was lucky to have gotten an ARC copy from a friend on twitter so I could read and review this book, as it was on my TBR. I was disappointed however, and this might just be the first mostly negative review I’ve written yet. It had a good premise and great story potential, but I felt there was something wrong with the execution of the characters and world building.
As I began to read The Shadow Queen, I found that it was missing a few things. I felt that a lot of the background of this novel was skipped over. It was as if I was thrown into this world without being given much knowledge of the magic, the characters, or really the high fantasy word I was introduced to. In other words, this book seemed to be all plot.
In my opinion, however, the plot was what made the book and it’s why I didn’t rate The Shadow Queen lower than three stars. I felt that the storyline was very interesting, intricate, and well thought out and linked back to the original Snow White story in a creative, new way. It was just hard to follow along when I felt there were things missing. For example, one of the characters to me was very flat. That was Prince/King Kol. He was introduced to us as kind of a party boy, but within two chapters he was suddenly this responsible, mature person. It was an odd transition, even considering what caused the transition, and I felt throughout the novel I could not connect with him because I didn’t get that character build up in the beginning of the book that you need in every novel, nor did he have any character development where he changed over the coarse of the novel.
And then there was Lorelai. Lorelai had some depth to her; I saw her change over the course of the novel and grow, but I thought she was a little TOO perfect. I have come across the term “mary sue” multiple times in my life, and I personally have never thought it was possible that I would ever use it to describe a character. Yet, I feel that Lorelai is somewhat of a Mary Sue. She is the “perfect” princess; intelligent, kind, and very powerful. She barely had any flaws and won every single battle without many drawbacks. It annoyed me that she didn’t reach any barriers or issues with her goals.
The only thing that I actually enjoyed was the plot of this book. I like the magic and Lorelai’s story, Irina’s story and why the two of them are in this battle for the throne. The author, also, was not afraid to cause you pain and rip out your heart, which is something I like even if it hurts. This story made me laugh, smile, even shed a small tear. It could have been much more emotional for me though, if it had been executed correctly.
This book ended in a way so that there were no cliffhangers and no loose ends, which is why I was surprised to find out The Shadow Queen will be part of a series. I feel as if there’s not much story left for these characters and I wish this novel had been dragged out into two books. It is a wonderful idea and story, it’s just missing details and should have been executed better. I’m not sure if I will read the sequel; I suppose I will if I get to learn more about the world, the history, the magic and if there is more character development.
Anyways, if you liked the Lunar Chronicles, you would most likely enjoy this book. It reminded me a lot of TLC and as much as I was disappointed by the fact The Shadow Queen was missing a lot of things, I would recommend this book. It’s a quick, easy read for those who enjoy magic, action, and romance. (review from morrisareads.wordpress.com)