THE QUEEN'S RISING
Series: The Queen's Rising #1
Source: ARC via Publisher
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 6, 2018
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:
Summary:
When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron.
Growing up in the southern Kingdom of Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her for such a life. While some are born with an innate talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she belatedly chose to study knowledge. However, despite all her preparations, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true—the solstice does not go according to plan and she is left without a patron.
Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, and with no other choices, she accepts. But there is much more to his story, and Brienna soon discovers that he has sought her out for his own vengeful gain. For there is a dangerous plot being planned to overthrow the king of Maevana—the archrival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involved—some closer to Brienna than she realizes.
With war brewing between the two lands, Brienna must choose whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood. Because a queen is destined to rise and lead the battle to reclaim the crown. The ultimate decision Brienna must determine is: Who will be that queen?
Amazon | Chapters | TBD
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
There were a lot of aspects to this one that were too easy, that fell into place too quickly, and that were convenient for the plot to move forward. But I highly enjoyed reading it and thought that it was a good, fairly fast paced book that fans of period pieces, Jane Austen, and YA Fantasy in general will enjoy.
I really liked Brienna as a character and that she wasn't quite good enough at anything she did, but that she had to work extremely hard for everything. I liked that it took her a while and some starts and stops before she was able to determine the best route forward. She was such a strong character and was really loyal to those she trusted. I really admired that she took it upon herself to be the role of advisor.
I liked the whole idea of the school and refining the arts and culture. I thought the different categories of study that were available were really intriguing. However, the whole "school" thing never really had an impact on the future of the story. It kinda just seemed like the author wanted to write about this...so they did. Which is fine, but it was just more of a segue that was treated as a main plot point.
The romance was kinda meh but I think it is because it plays into a lot of what was too convenient about the plot. Some of this may be spoiler-y so feel free to ignore it if you don't want to be spoiled for the book!
First of all, the genealogical trees at the beginning of the book should definitely be moved to the end because it gave away a MAJOR spoiler. The whole point of the plot is that Brienna doesn't know who her father is, but if you read the family trees, you are spoiled for that. It was pretty obvious who her father was going to be, but I still think that it took away the element of surprise.
Further, every aspect of the second half of the book was just too easy. Brienna needs this to happen? Well of course it will happen with no problems. The entire plan to get over to the other continent hinged way too much on convenience. There was not enough tension, mystery, and intrigue to really keep me hooked into the plot. I guessed every twist and turn along the way, even what should have been Big Reveals.
All that being said, I truly did enjoy reading this and I look forward to the sequel that comes out oh so very soon! I think there is a lot of promise in what can come out of this series. I will say though that there is not a whole lot of magic involved in this and it is VERY loosely a fantasy novel. I would say it's more historical, but that's just me.
There were a lot of aspects to this one that were too easy, that fell into place too quickly, and that were convenient for the plot to move forward. But I highly enjoyed reading it and thought that it was a good, fairly fast paced book that fans of period pieces, Jane Austen, and YA Fantasy in general will enjoy.
I really liked Brienna as a character and that she wasn't quite good enough at anything she did, but that she had to work extremely hard for everything. I liked that it took her a while and some starts and stops before she was able to determine the best route forward. She was such a strong character and was really loyal to those she trusted. I really admired that she took it upon herself to be the role of advisor.
I liked the whole idea of the school and refining the arts and culture. I thought the different categories of study that were available were really intriguing. However, the whole "school" thing never really had an impact on the future of the story. It kinda just seemed like the author wanted to write about this...so they did. Which is fine, but it was just more of a segue that was treated as a main plot point.
The romance was kinda meh but I think it is because it plays into a lot of what was too convenient about the plot. Some of this may be spoiler-y so feel free to ignore it if you don't want to be spoiled for the book!
First of all, the genealogical trees at the beginning of the book should definitely be moved to the end because it gave away a MAJOR spoiler. The whole point of the plot is that Brienna doesn't know who her father is, but if you read the family trees, you are spoiled for that. It was pretty obvious who her father was going to be, but I still think that it took away the element of surprise.
Further, every aspect of the second half of the book was just too easy. Brienna needs this to happen? Well of course it will happen with no problems. The entire plan to get over to the other continent hinged way too much on convenience. There was not enough tension, mystery, and intrigue to really keep me hooked into the plot. I guessed every twist and turn along the way, even what should have been Big Reveals.
All that being said, I truly did enjoy reading this and I look forward to the sequel that comes out oh so very soon! I think there is a lot of promise in what can come out of this series. I will say though that there is not a whole lot of magic involved in this and it is VERY loosely a fantasy novel. I would say it's more historical, but that's just me.
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I've been meaning to pick this up for so long! I've heard a lot of mediocre things about it and many of the issues you mentioned are ones I've been seeing, but it does still sound like an interesting concept. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoyed the historical aspect to it and I loved Cartier!
ReplyDelete