Tag Archives: Political Intrigue

Review: The Raven Throne by Stephanie Burgis

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,
The Raven Throne by Stephanie Burgess

The Raven Throne (The Raven Crown #2)
Stephanie Burgis
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Published August 8, 2023

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About The Raven Throne

The unmissable sequel to The Raven Heir and conclusion to the epic middle-grade fantasy series perfect for fans of Abi Elphinstone and Piers Torday.

Cordelia has been crowned The Raven Queen. But with new power comes new danger.

Once their triplet Cordelia became The Raven Queen, Giles and Rosalind knew they would have to learn to behave at court. No more fighting for Rosalind and no more singing for Giles. What they didn’t foresee was having to foil a plot against their sister.

When Cordelia falls into an enchanted sleep and cannot be woken, Rosalind and Giles must quest across the kingdom to seek help from the ancient spirits of the land. But their family’s greatest enemies lurk at every turn, and it will take all of the triplets’ deepest strengths to fight against them.

A thrilling finale to the magical and mystical series.

My Review

I’m a huge fan of Stephanie Burgis’s middle grade novels (I know she has adult fiction, and I’ve bought a copy of one of her books, but I haven’t read it yet. It looks really fun, though!), and THE RAVEN HEIR, the first book in this duology was one of my favorite books from last year. So it was a pretty big no-brainer that this one was going to be on my reading list this year.

When I think about this book and the story it tells, the first word that comes to mind is “ambitious.” I feel like this was a hard story to tell because it’s got a lot of political intrigue and a pretty large cast of named characters, and there’s a lot of action to wrap up in a single less-than-300-page novel.

For the most part, I think it’s a success. I got chills as Ros and Giles confronted the forces they needed to in order to save the day (I’m getting chills again writing about it), and I cried when Cordy named her sister a knight. There were some really great moments like that throughout the book. I loved the theme of the messages people speak about us versus what we believe about ourselves. Powerful stuff.

That said, I did find the opening to be a little confusing because of the number of named characters participating. There are six family members plus various lords and ladies at court, attendants, and relatives. I had a hard time keeping those more minor characters straight, though as I got deeper into the story, it got easier.

Conclusion

THE RAVEN THRONE is the second book in The Raven Crown duology. If you haven’t read THE RAVEN HEIR, which is the first book, I recommend you start with that one before reading this one.

On the whole, I still enjoyed a lot of elements of this book. It’s one of the few about triplets that I’ve ever read, and the relationships between the siblings are still one of my favorite parts. I think fans of UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko or THE FIREBIRD SONG by Arnée Flores should check out this duology.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Cordelia, the Raven Queen, has made a pact with the spirits of the land that she’ll listen to them and protect them. She and her triplets have magic abilities.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief moments leading up to battle. One scene describes a battle with nature. In one scene, a woman disappears into a crack in the ground. A man is surrounded by tree growth.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE RAVEN THRONE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Sing Me to Sleep
Gabi Burton
Bloomsbury YA
Published June 27, 2023

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About Sing Me to Sleep

In this dark and seductive YA fantasy debut, a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.

Saoirse Sorkova survives on lies. As a soldier-in-training at the most prestigious barracks in the kingdom, she lies about being a siren to avoid execution. At night, working as an assassin for a dangerous group of mercenaries, Saoirse lies about her true identity. And to her family, Saoirse tells the biggest lie of all: that she can control her siren powers and doesn’t struggle constantly against an impulse to kill.

As the top trainee in her class, Saoirse would be headed for a bright future if it weren’t for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince.

Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom’s brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him-especially when they’re forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who’s plaguing the city. There’s only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.

Featuring an all Black and Brown cast, a forbidden romance, and a compulsively dark plot full of twists, this thrilling YA fantasy is perfect for fans of A SONG BELOW WATER and TO KILL A KINGDOM.

My Review

I have mixed feelings about siren stories. DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE QUEEN made me uncomfortable with its casual description of sexual assault by sirens. But I loved the way sirens were included in A SONG BELOW WATER. The opening scenes of SING ME TO SLEEP only made me more nervous because right away, it started with a description of a man touching Saoirse without her consent and then progressed to her using her ability to control him and force him to do things without his consent.

Once the story developed more, and I got to know Saoirse outside the context of her role as an assassin, especially as I got to see her relationships with Jeune and Hayes, I started to enjoy the story a lot more. I especially thought it was interesting when Saoirse began to want or need things that stood in opposition to what her siren nature wanted or needed her to do.

I think having a female character (as a siren) who can take back power in a sexual space is awesome. It does make me uncomfortable to have that happen in a way that ignores consent, though. I think I wish Saoirse had at least considered whether she was doing the same thing to the men who treated her so wrongly. There are some moments where she comes right up to the edge of considering it but then retreats to justifying herself.

On the whole, I think the strength of the book is in the relationships between characters and in Saoirse’s quest to protect her identity while figuring out who is trying to harm the people she loves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are described as having brown or dark brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Saoirse uses her siren abilities to excite lust in her victims and then controls them before killing them or forcing them to kill themselves. Sometimes before she begins using her abilities, they touch her without her consent. Sometimes she feels justified in killing them because they violated her this way.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Saoirse works as an assassin for an unnamed employer. In several scenes, she murders men her employer hires her to kill. A couple of scenes show sparring or battles. In one scene, an official executes a prisoner. In another scene, a man kills someone with a knife. Several people drown or nearly drown.

Drug Content
Some scenes show social drinking. Hayes takes two guards with him to a pub with the intent of getting drunk. Saoirse refuses to drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SING ME TO SLEEP in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Cursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

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Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns #2)
Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Balzer + Bray
Published May 9, 2023

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About Cursed Crowns

Bestselling authors and real-life sisters-in-law Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber join forces on a compelling YA fantasy bursting with high-stakes adventure, romance and humour. Two queens, one throne. What can possibly go wrong . . .?

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.

Break the ice to free the curse,
Kill one twin to save another . . .

My Review

I started this series because Catherine Doyle wrote one of my favorite middle grade series. In addition, it’s about two sisters– one of my favorite kinds of stories.

I like the pacing of CURSED CROWNS. Things happen quickly, and that kept me feeling like I wanted to keep reading to see what happened next, even long past time for me to go to bed. I also like the two sisters and their different personalities. Rose is so proper, but she uses that knowledge to wield respect and power, which is really cool. Wren has no patience for the long game of diplomacy. She acts impulsively, guided by her gut and her heart. I love that about her.

Though it’s a longer book– 499 pages– the writing is easy to read, and the chapters are pretty short. I read it pretty fast, and had a lot of fun reading it. The story doesn’t take itself overly seriously, either. Sometimes odd, even ridiculous things happen that kind of give a break from the stakes and intensity of the situation the queens find themselves in.

The first book, TWIN CROWNS introduces a romance for each sister. I felt like there was more emphasis on the romance in that book than I expected there to be. It left me wondering if the balance between the romance and the other plot elements was off.

I think CURSED CROWNS has a great balance between these two components, and it even introduces some complications to the romance that I’m really interested in following into the next book in the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Main characters are white. Shen and some other minor characters are described as having dark eyes and golden-brown skin and coming from a desert kingdom.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some vague references to wanting more than kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are witches and have the ability to perform magic. One character learns of a forbidden magic that is performed using blood, but it comes at a high cost.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. A faction of people with deep anti-witch sentiment threaten Rose and her party. A group of animals try to attack Wren.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol. One character repeatedly pines for whiskey.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of CURSED CROWN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Queen of Attolia (The Queen’s Thief #2)
Megan Whalen Turner
Greenwillow Books
Published February 28, 2017 (originally published in 2000)

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About The Queen of Attolia

The brilliant thief Eugenides has visited the Queen of Attolia’s palace one too many times, leaving small tokens and then departing unseen. When his final excursion does not go as planned, he is captured by the ruthless queen. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

My Review

A bit more than a year ago, I finally read the first book in The Queen’s Thief series, THE THIEF, and I’m finally reading the second book. I remember the first book being a bit rough at the start because it felt like it took awhile for the story to get going.

THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA begins with a pretty big bang, and right away I was carried off into all the politics and intrigue of what was happening. In terms of violence, the beginning is the roughest part of the book. There’s one scene that’s particularly awful. I think the hardest part about the book is that I bought in so deeply to those early scenes, and that made shifting away from how the characters felt in that moment difficult.

Partly what made following the characters’ changing feelings hard is the way the story is told. Turner’s writing is pretty omniscient, giving us a view of a scene and what different characters are thinking. But we don’t always get to see how they feel. I think having more of a window into how characters felt and how those feelings changed would have strengthened my buy-in to the second half of the story.

I still really liked the second half of the book. One of my favorite parts that I really liked is Eugenides’ cleverness and the depth to his character that his experiences brought him. I also liked that the story focused so much on the relationship between the two queens, the difference in their ruling styles, and situations within their kingdoms. In my review of THE THIEF, I lamented the lack of female characters. This book did not leave me feeling that lack.

On the whole, I am really glad I read this book. I think I enjoyed this one more than the first one, and I would say it’s very likely I’ll continue with the series. (Have I mentioned that Steve West performs all the books in the series on audiobook?? Because yes, please!)

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. The countries are made up but inspired by countries on the Mediterranean Sea.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Eugenides serves the God of Thieves and has taken his name as part of his role as the Queen’s Thief. He leaves sacrifices at alters for various gods and goddesses, and sometimes prays. The Queen of Eddis tells a story about a woman who is tricked by a goddess. The Queen of Attolia believes in the gods, but refuses to serve them. Attolians in general aren’t very religious.

Violent Content
References to torture and execution. One scene shows a boy strapped into a chair while a soldier cuts off his hand. Brief battle violence. Situations of peril.

Drug Content
Wine is served with meals. A physician gives Eugenides a strong pain medication which helps him sleep and recover from serious injury.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Silver in the Mist
Emily Victoria
Inkyard Press
Published November 1, 2022

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About Silver in the Mist

Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer of Aris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.

Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.

Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.

My Review

I found the first few chapters of this book a little bit confusing. It seemed like there were things I was supposed to know already (magic systems, geography, etc.) that I didn’t know. I actually looked to see if this was a sequel to another book that I’d missed. Nope.

Once I was maybe four or so chapters into the book, though, I felt like the story settled into itself. I liked the whole spy network element and the magic system based on creating shapes called filigree. From the beginning I liked Dev’s character, but I think Lochlan was my favorite. I loved their snappy remarks.

I think readers who enjoy books about magic with a bit of political intrigue will like this one. It reminded me a teeny bit of DEFY THE NIGHT by Brigid Kemmerer, though I think there’s a little more world building in Kemmerer’s books.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
One minor character is nonbinary.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief reference to two women who married. It seemed like there was some attraction between Dev and Alyse (two girls), but nothing is ever openly specified.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic by creating filigree. Magic mist spawns terrible monsters.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one scene, characters fight off a monster. Other references to monster fights. One reference to torture and execution.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SILVER IN THE MIST in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

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Defy the Night
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury
Published September 14, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Defy the Night

The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents’ shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King’s Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion–it’s the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most–but it’s still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King’s Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it’s even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

A fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down.

My Review

I was super excited when I opened the package that had an ARC of DEFY THE NIGHT in it. I didn’t think I’d be on the list of bloggers who would get a copy (THANKS, BLOOMSBURY!), so I wasn’t even on the lookout for it. And yet! Yay!!!

So when I started reading, I was nervous. If you know me, you’re probably rolling your eyes. I’m always nervous when I start a book. If I liked the author already, I worry that the book won’t live up to my expectations based on how I felt about previous books. If it’s a new-to-me author, I worry that the book won’t be a good fit for me, and I’ll struggle to read it. So. Yeah. Apparently I’m just a nervous reader.

I think the first time I sat down to read, I read like 70 pages. When I quit, I wanted to read more, but I was really tired. I was into the story, had some ideas about where it was headed. (Yeah, okay, I peeked ahead. Did you forget already that I’m a nervous reader?! Ha.)

The second time I sat down to read, I read over 100 pages. The third time, I finished the book. (Something around 250 pages.)

I loved Tessa’s character– and I feel like Kemmerer always does this to me. She always gives us these bright, strong heroines with layers and grief and depth, and I love them from the first pages. I wasn’t sure I’d like Corrick. I mean, I suspected there was more to him than the brutal exterior, because hello, he’s the hero, but, I just wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into.

The story centers around a pandemic in a time of unrest and violence. Brief violent descriptions of death or torture or assassination attempts kind of pepper the whole book. I wasn’t expecting that for some reason, so the darkness of it kind of took me by surprise. They’re almost always brief descriptions, but there are a lot of them. I’m super sensitive to violence, so I kept worrying that it would add up to be too much for me, but I think because it’s usually so brief, I was okay reading it.

I completely bought into the premise and the characters, so I feel like I can’t even evaluate whether they made perfect sense– because I was committed to the story from pretty early on. The danger felt so real. The stakes kept getting higher. And the relationships twisted and turned and revealed new layers again and again.

I also liked that it didn’t end on a cliff’s edge. It had what I’d call a comfortable resolution (??) where, like, things felt completed without at the last minute introducing a new thread to tease us about the next book. So I really appreciated that! We have enough stress and anticipation right now. Haha. I’m excited about the fact that it’s a series, though, because I would definitely read more of this story world. I’m wondering, since it didn’t have a cliffhanger end, if the next book centers on different characters??? I am really excited to find out about that.

At any rate, I think readers who enjoyed A HEART SO FIERCE AND BROKEN will find the same great storytelling and complicated characters here. I might have liked this one better than AHSFAB? I’m not sure. It might be my favorite of Kemmerer’s so far, but I’m a pretty devoted fan of LETTERS TO THE LOST, so that one is tough to beat. Either way, I loved it and recommend checking it out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
I don’t recall any. Maybe mild profanity? If so it’s pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girl and boy. In one scene, the characters kiss pretty intensely.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lots of brief violence. Assassination attempts or successes. References to torture. Descriptions of executions. Descriptions of battle or a group beating up one person. Explosions. Most of these things are brief, but there are a lot of them.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of DEFY THE NIGHT in exchange for my honest review.