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A review by maggieha
The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima
4.0
*3.75/5 stars*
“But adulthood slipped up on you, she thought. It was forced on you whether you liked it or not.”
To be honest, the first 100-150 pages were slow with both Han and Raisa basicaly only traveling to the same destination. After they arrived at the academy, the plot picked up a lot, and the last 100-200 pages got really interesting.
I think that, in the end, I liked this book more than the first one. The plot was captivating for the most part, I like the world building and magic, and the characters - especially Raisa - has grown since book one.
The main thing is that, even though I do like both, I can't really connect to neither Raisa nor Han, or any other characters in this series. I like them, but can't say I love them. And while Han is probably the most interesting character in this series (especially since his chapters in this second book focused a lot on magic and that's always captivating), I can't help being a bit annoyed with him from time to time.
Also, can this series be less focused on all the little romances and more on the storyline and magic and battles and politics? They weren't interesting to read about and I think the books have the most potential when focusing the world, magic and politics. Most of the little romances here are insubstantial, uninteresting and surface level. I don't mind some surface level flirtation in my books either, it doesn't need to have some super-deep for-life romance, but if the romances are like this then I want the primarily focus on the actual plot and stuff.
In the end, I'm still very much enjoying the world Chima created and am interested to continue on, because there's a lot to love about this series. The world building and magic system and politics are all top notch. I even like the characters now for the most part, but they are (for me) not the best part of the series.
“But it's not enough to know right from wrong. You need the strength to do what's right, even when what you want most in the world is the wrong thing.”
“But adulthood slipped up on you, she thought. It was forced on you whether you liked it or not.”
To be honest, the first 100-150 pages were slow with both Han and Raisa basicaly only traveling to the same destination. After they arrived at the academy, the plot picked up a lot, and the last 100-200 pages got really interesting.
I think that, in the end, I liked this book more than the first one. The plot was captivating for the most part, I like the world building and magic, and the characters - especially Raisa - has grown since book one.
The main thing is that, even though I do like both, I can't really connect to neither Raisa nor Han, or any other characters in this series. I like them, but can't say I love them. And while Han is probably the most interesting character in this series (especially since his chapters in this second book focused a lot on magic and that's always captivating), I can't help being a bit annoyed with him from time to time.
Also, can this series be less focused on all the little romances and more on the storyline and magic and battles and politics? They weren't interesting to read about and I think the books have the most potential when focusing the world, magic and politics. Most of the little romances here are insubstantial, uninteresting and surface level. I don't mind some surface level flirtation in my books either, it doesn't need to have some super-deep for-life romance, but if the romances are like this then I want the primarily focus on the actual plot and stuff.
In the end, I'm still very much enjoying the world Chima created and am interested to continue on, because there's a lot to love about this series. The world building and magic system and politics are all top notch. I even like the characters now for the most part, but they are (for me) not the best part of the series.
“But it's not enough to know right from wrong. You need the strength to do what's right, even when what you want most in the world is the wrong thing.”