Showing posts with label queen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label queen. Show all posts

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

[REVIEW] The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Published: September 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: Seven Realms #2
You can't always run from danger...

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the  irresistible power of attraction. (From Goodreads)


The Exiled Queen is the second book in the four book, Seven Realms series.

In the second book, the two main characters, Hans Allister (formerly, Cuffs Alister) and Raisa Ana'Marianna (who goes by Rebecca Morley to keep her identity a secret) both end up at Oden's Ford for school. As revealed in the last book, Hans starts training as a wizard while attempting to stay alive from the two Bayer twins. Along the way, Hans make some deals he could regret especially when he meets a mysterious wizard named Crow who seems seems to have his own ulterier motives. Raisa stays with Amon Bryne while training as a cadet. At Oden's Ford she stays hidden away but what happens when she gets found and kidnapped back to the one place she is running from? Well, the Exiled Queen is definitely not short of drama. We have a romantic relationship sproat between Hans and Raisa but for an heir princess, nothing always happens the way you think it does.

Chima does it again in this sequel to her first book, The Demon King. 

Although I will admit, this book lacks the action and life threatening moments that i enjoyed from the first book. I found this book was more focused on the character's relationships. Like I said, there's no shortage of drama, not just from Raisa but from Hans as well. 

What I really liked when reading this book was that it really is like you're reading two different stories that somehow entangle at some part in the middle and then seperate again. 

I also started to hate Amon for what he did to Raisa. His reasoning in the story is also absolutely horrible, but understandable and yet, at the same time completely ridiculous but what's to be done about that.  If you didn't read the first book, Amon and Raisa love each other but because of certain oaths and rules, Amon can't be with Raisa otherwise he gets punished. It's the Bryne legacy to always act in a way that protects the Grey Wolfe line (that's Raisa's royal line) and since they have to protect the line, Amon, as a Bryne, can't love the princess. 

This book was also really hard to get through at the end. Not because it was boring but because I didn't want to know what would happen. I wanted to stop reading and hope the character's happiness would last but of course, my curiosity got the best of me and I read it. Well all I can say is I'm glad the third book is coming out in a couple of weeks. 

If you love fantasy and action and possibly romance, give this book a try.




5/5!
(originally posted in the TPL Word Out program)
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Sunday, 11 March 2012

[REVIEW] The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Published: January 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: The Iron Fey #3
My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back. (From Goodreads)

The Iron Queen is the third book in the iron fey series.

The Iron Queen takes off where the Iron Daugher stopped. Meghan and Ash, after being exiled, are trying to find a place to stay. In the end, they go back to Leanansidhe, the Queen of Exiles that they had met in the previous book, seeking a place to stay there. At the quaint cottage, Leanansidhe lends them, Meghan trains with Ash and Puck in battle skills and soon learn from the two court envoys that the Seelie and Unseelie court have called a truce and have gone to war against the iron fey. The envoys notify Meghan that they will release the exile status of Meghan, Ash and Puck (who was exiled when he decided to follow Meghan) if she would journey into the Iron Kingdom and kill the false king. (NOTE: the "false" king is the fey that replaced the previous king but is not the actual heir to the throne) So, Meghan travels in to the Iron kingdom with Ash and Puck and journeys to kill the false king. Along the way, they face many troubles including acid rain and iron fey rebellion that refuses to let them pass. All of their troubles soon come to an end when the great war between iron and non-iron fey begins.

The Iron Queen was probably as exciting as the second book. 

To me though, it's sort of the ending of Meghan's tale and the start of Ash's as the next book in the series (titled, the Iron Knight) has Ash as the narrator, not Meghan. 
The plot is once again Meghan battling iron fey to save someone, this time the whole land of Nevernever (the fey world). 

The plot twist that Julie Kagawa put in to this series though was really surprising. There was foreshadow before this book but i didn't really give it a thought. When it suddenly happened though, i was really shocked and also sad because the twist made it so that Ash and Meghan couldn't be together! But i know, Ash will find a way back to Meghan. He has too...otherwise there won't be a happy ending! (as you can tell, I'm clearly on Team Ash) I believe in happy endings but i guess I'll just have to keep reading to find out. 

Give this book a try! i know i wasn't dissapointed when i decided to continue this series.





5/5!
(originally posted in the TPL Word Out program)