A review by katieinca
The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell

2.0

I read it because comparisons were drawn to [a:Lois McMaster Bujold|16094|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1623465132p2/16094.jpg], who I absolutely love. And okay sure, this is a fantasy novel with limited magic, more politics. But I didn't find it very compelling, and often a bit of a slog. Most of the characters were a little flat, and you end up with two who apparently fall madly in love with each other and that just seemed to kind of spontaneously happen in a way that felt unearned. Also, Bujold does the thing where she or a character will be talking about something that's relevant to that moment of the plot but actually you want to pause and highlight it because it's A Poignant True Statement About Life and this didn't have anything like that sparkle.