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lilyevangeline 's review for:
The Exiled Queen
by Cinda Williams Chima
Book one: Court intrigue (with all the usual plot points--kidnapping, arranged marriage, lovable thief, at least 3 possible love interests). Book Two: Magic/Warrior School (with all the usual plot points + extra political intrigue + lovelovelove for our young princess yet again???).
Idk what it is about this series, because when I break it down, this series has more genre cliches than I'd care to count, but Cinda Williams Chima has got me good and I am here to find out if our star-crossed lovers will:
a) go on an international journey, making friends and allies in various kingdoms so that they can someday (SOON) unite what was Broken and make the Seven Realms whole (I vote yes)
b) root out the systemic oppression and abuse of power rampant in this surprisingly complex world, all the while navigating a dangerous political climate that they only (very) barely comprehend
c) try to keep Raisa from being i) kidnapped (AGAIN) or ii) almost married against her will (AGAIN) because these seem to be recurring issues for her (pls, Chima, pls)
c) be fully honest with each other about their identities (aka Raisa, Han's gotta know you're the queen) and goals (aka, Han, Raisa's gotta know you've got a major vendetta + multiple (more than I can recall, honestly) conflicts of interest) so that they can become the power couple the Seven Realms has been waiting for (*HYPE HYPE HYPE*)
PLUS (+) there's all those secondary characters we are intimately concerned about. Is Micah really as awful as he seems? (probably) Is there redemption possible for Fiona? (improbably) How is Dancer so conveniently good at teaching himself forbidden magical talisman making? (probably because Han has NEEDS and zero clout with the weapons ppl) Can Cat really be trusted or will that gURRL buy out again? (I trust, you, babe. maybe...) Is Amon EVER going to get over his so-close-and-yet-so-far princess-love or will his whole life just be one big tragic sacrifice for the woman he loves but can never have? (probably just a lonely sacrifice bc duty before love + there's a literal magical bond thing) Will Hallie's daughter get to come to school with her? (YES) How come Mellony has no (ZERO) personality, even less agency, and no screen time--is she really as harmless, brainless, and all-around-classic-witless-princessy as she appears? (legit my biggest question. How can our main heroine have apparently no relationship, either positive or negative, with her only sister??? Chima is going to get major points from me if it turns out Mellony has been underestimated by everyone and she's secretly a total BA. I'm rooting for you, Mellony.)
Don't mind me while I refresh the library page (again) to see if "in transit" has changed to "ready for pickup" for book three.
Idk what it is about this series, because when I break it down, this series has more genre cliches than I'd care to count, but Cinda Williams Chima has got me good and I am here to find out if our star-crossed lovers will:
a) go on an international journey, making friends and allies in various kingdoms so that they can someday (SOON) unite what was Broken and make the Seven Realms whole (I vote yes)
b) root out the systemic oppression and abuse of power rampant in this surprisingly complex world, all the while navigating a dangerous political climate that they only (very) barely comprehend
c) try to keep Raisa from being i) kidnapped (AGAIN) or ii) almost married against her will (AGAIN) because these seem to be recurring issues for her (pls, Chima, pls)
c) be fully honest with each other about their identities (aka Raisa, Han's gotta know you're the queen) and goals (aka, Han, Raisa's gotta know you've got a major vendetta + multiple (more than I can recall, honestly) conflicts of interest) so that they can become the power couple the Seven Realms has been waiting for (*HYPE HYPE HYPE*)
PLUS (+) there's all those secondary characters we are intimately concerned about. Is Micah really as awful as he seems? (probably) Is there redemption possible for Fiona? (improbably) How is Dancer so conveniently good at teaching himself forbidden magical talisman making? (probably because Han has NEEDS and zero clout with the weapons ppl) Can Cat really be trusted or will that gURRL buy out again? (I trust, you, babe. maybe...) Is Amon EVER going to get over his so-close-and-yet-so-far princess-love or will his whole life just be one big tragic sacrifice for the woman he loves but can never have? (probably just a lonely sacrifice bc duty before love + there's a literal magical bond thing) Will Hallie's daughter get to come to school with her? (YES) How come Mellony has no (ZERO) personality, even less agency, and no screen time--is she really as harmless, brainless, and all-around-classic-witless-princessy as she appears? (legit my biggest question. How can our main heroine have apparently no relationship, either positive or negative, with her only sister??? Chima is going to get major points from me if it turns out Mellony has been underestimated by everyone and she's secretly a total BA. I'm rooting for you, Mellony.)
Don't mind me while I refresh the library page (again) to see if "in transit" has changed to "ready for pickup" for book three.