A review by annotatewithsara
Queen and Conqueror by Isabelle Olmo

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gripping. 

So quotable. 

High-stakes political fantasy, with great romance element, but not a romantasy. 

Multiple POVs. 

Third person omniscient narrator. 

Full of symbolism, foreshadowing, and aha moments. 

A very fun series to annotate because of all the easter eggs. 

Compelling slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance with melt-your-heart revelations. 

Has Spice. This is not a closed-door romance. 

Feminist world building. Definitely read if you like Game of Thrones, but hated the misogyny in that series. 

You’ll want to join the author’s discord channel to react and commiserate with other readers! 

 

Let’s talk about magic. The setup is lovely world-building. Magic exists, but it is waning. Not in an alarming way. It's as if the world is on the tail end of a natural magical cycle. Like ice age ending, but the fading epoch is magic. This left lots of room for magical fun in the plot, which I love in a fantasy. (Re: old scrolls, magical weapons, prophecies, and witches!) But, it keeps the characters focused on a trifecta of mortal powers: the intelligence, community, culture they cultivate. I love that the strongest magic available to an average persons seems to be in oaths. There’s an omnipresent, personified, and deified energy of death, the Favia, that humans can bargain with.