Claire Legrand
YA Fantasy
The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world…or doom it.
When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.
One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire’s heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world–and of each other.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.
Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.
My Opinion
(3 / 5) You know those books that you’ve eyed for years but never had the chance to pick up? How they live in your head as the sure-fire next book you’ll love? That’s what this was for me. I either built it up too much in my head or it just wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.
Magic, love and war fill the lives of Eliana and Rielle. They are two young women who live 1000 years apart but are connected in multiple ways. We learn about their history and magic in pieces throughout the book and the world building was done very well.
The POV being a thousand years apart made my mind never fully connect the characters in the way the author intended. I also felt that the character development needed more depth to truly be a book for me to adore. While the many characters were fun, it became difficult to discern which characters were in what timeline. I also struggled with Corin and the relationship with Rielle but I had a hard time grasping Corin’s presence and purpose in general.
AUDIO REVIEW: Fiona Hardingham had a very even voice throughout. I would’ve preferred more voice differences for each character to tell them apart easier but her cadence matched the tone of the book
General content summary: F words= 7
Language
Birth
Death (jumping from a large height)
Physical violence (blood, injuries, weapons, horse killed, few details, multiple, fist fights, slit throat, stabbing, bombs/explosions)
Missing women (taken from their beds)
Killings (blood, beheadings, few details, grief)
Intimacy (m/f closed door, m/f foreplay and more with details 3x)
Talk of birth control
A man requiring sexual favors as a payment (few details)
Fire death (previous, no details)
Avalanche
M/M marriage
Child tells of an attack on her family where her mother was possibly raped (family killed)
Child prisoners
Gods and prayers
Creature attack (few details)
Masturbation (brief)
Attempted murder (fall from large height)
Torture (injuries, 2xi)
House fire (people inside)
Thank you to PRH Audio for the copy!
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