Quintana of Charyn: The Lumatere Chronicles (The Lumatere Chronicles, #3)

by Melina Marchetta

"Vivid and wholly satisfying. . . . A stand-out fantasy series." — Booklist (starred review) 

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this conclusion to Printz Award winner Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy trilogy.

• ISBN10: 076366930X
• ISBN13: 9780763669300
• Publish Date: 27 May 2014 (first published 1 October 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Candlewick Press,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 528
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780763669300

Reviews

[darklings]

people who spent more 2 mins waiting for this **** are truly braver than the u.s marines. one day I'm gonna properly review it. it's what it deserves. 

 

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

This was easily my favourite read of the week, and a reread at that.  I adore this series so much and I can't think of a coherent thing to say about it!  All I want to do is go back to the start and read it again, but that seems excessive when I've now read it twice in the space of 3 months!  I'm so annoyed with myself for not reading this series for the first time until August 2017 and missing out on all its goodness until this year.  For the longest time I put it off because I love Melina's contemporary books and I was scared her fantasy novels wouldn't live up to the hype, but clearly I was wrong and I should've known better!!

I must say, I love the narrator, Grant Cartwright - he's fantastic and very enjoyable to listen to, adding to the experience that is this book.  He also narrates Froi of the Exiles and he does a brilliant job in both, unlike the narrator of Finnikin of the Rock, who makes drives me nuts with his stupid pronunciation of character names and places.  Cartwright brings the characters to life and it was a joy to listen to - 5 stars.
Check out the rest of my review here!

[reveriesociety_]

This was too much.
I'm sorry, but I din't think my feels can handle trying to sum them up in a review. Maybe one day, when the memory isn't that fresh, I'll be able to write one.

For now, just know that this series was epic and perfect in every possible way. *disappears weeping*

[KitsuneBae]

Book Review: Quintana of Charyn If this book is a game then there’s no other word to describe it than OWNING. I was completely pwned with no hope of recovery. Quintana of Charyn owns me in a molecular level and I don’t want to break free. This is one of those books that would make you lay down your life without hesitation. The book that would render you singing,“I’d rather have bad times with you than good times with somebook else.”“I’d rather be beside in you a storm than safe and warm by myself.”It’s corny but I hope that you get the idea. Quintana of Charyn and the previous 2 books are that good. Garnering a 5 star rating from me, Quintana of Charyn continues the story of our old characters from the first two books with a strong focus on Froi, his family and Quintana. I lost count on how many times Marchetta broke my heart while reading this story. The scary thing is, I am a willing receiver of the pain. And I will do it again and again just to snuggle with this book in every waking moment of my life.As with the previous two books, the strength of Quintana of Charyn does not only rely on its magnificent world building or the bittersweet romance but also with its blemished characters, multifaceted and dynamic familial relationships, friendships bounded by heart and soul and a culture that is woven with delicate care. Unlike other YA books, Quintana of Charyn—being a third book—didn’t suffer the dreadful “loss of firepower” syndrome. Instead, it progressed with a beautiful momentum preparing to ignite your emotions in the right moments. And believe me, there’s no way of bracing yourself when that moment comes. It’s blissful and melancholic at the same time.The world Melina created with this series is a fantastical realm embellished with realism and heart. It’s an escape that would keep your feet grounded and yet, you can’t stop from wishing that you’re there… on the scene wielding your sword to slay dragons for Quintana. Or become Froi’s best friend or be an apprentice to Arjuro or therapist to broken Gargarin or an eye opener for Lucian. There’s just so much going on here that you wouldn’t realize it’s already 3 am in the morning. Or that you’re already sick from not sleeping for four consecutive days.Reading Quintana of Charyn and the rest of the Lumatere Chronicles is tantamount to drug addiction. It keeps you awake even if your body is already screaming for rest. You can’t let go even if you want to…because if you do, reading life loses its meaning. And the only way to rise from the horrid fate is to soldier on, overdosing yourself with Lumatere goodness… to breach the barrier between this world and Lumatere… to embrace the exquisiteness of everything Lumatere Chronicles has to offer. Every pain and sadness in this book is worth reliving. This is a dream I don’t want to wake up from.Quintana of Charyn didn’t just end with a bang but it also took away my heart. Quintana of Charyn is worth my troubled journey. It was that epic that I was so sorry for arriving at its last page.And guys, the Lumatere Chronicles is the very first series which all three books earned a consistent 5 star rating from me. If it’s possible, I wouldn’t hesitate giving it the sun, the moon, and the nine planets. Read it if you wanna know why.

[Angie]

After the heart stopping ending of the previous book, I was expecting big things from Quintana of Charyn. At times it met my expectations, but in general this finale felt unnecessarily drawn out. There is a lot of tension between all of the characters at the beginning, and I was anxiously awaiting for someone to snap. The kingdoms are also on the verge of war as some are trying to protect Quintana and her unborn baby, while others want to see her or both dead. There’s no lack of action overall, but I found the pacing to be extremely uneven, which would take me out of the story. I just wanted to get to the happy ending already!

My biggest issue with Quintana of Charyn was the abundant use of dramatic irony. I almost always find it frustrating, especially when the plot spans 500 pages. The reader is always aware of Quintana’s location and her relative safety, but Froi and those in his company are fretting about where she could be. They enter so many dangerous situations thinking that they’ll find her in various locations. I just wanted someone to send them an owl or something letting them know that Quintana is hidden away and save them the trouble and plenty of scars. It’s also used for the subplot of the valley’s women being hidden away despite the men thinking they’ve all died of plague. Everyone is heartbroken and hurting for no reason! Well, there is a reason, but I really just hate dramatic irony and felt like it bogged down the story.

Of course, Quintana of Charyn has a happy ending. I never doubted that, but it certainly wasn’t an easy one to come by. Nothing played out how I was expecting either. I did think the final chapter seemed a little rushed though. I would have liked more out of Froi and Quintana’s reunion. I really just don’t have much to say about this book. It was very up and down for me, and not a lot about it stuck with me. While this series wasn’t anything special for me, I am glad that I read it. It definitely had some awesome moments, and I really enjoyed the world that the author created.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[ladygrey]

I was so excited for this book I didn't know what to do with myself. Because Melina Marchetta is amazing. And because Froi ended on such a terrible cliffhanger. And mostly because I love these characters and this world and I wanted to know what happened next.

One of the things I enjoyed about Quintana was the pacing. Nothing was drawn out for a chapter or two; characters didn't wander around trying to find out what was going on when the reader knew. There were revelations and the characters took action and the reader saw the results of that action quickly and that made it a lot of fun to read.

The plot actually surprised me and I like that it didn't go the way I expected it to go - just because predictability is no fun.

The characters, of course, are awesome. It was interesting to see some of their flaws come to the surface more. But it was also fun that there was a sense of the everyday-ness to them. Because they've been connected in these relationships for a while now so that comfortablity with each other and that familiarity with how they're connected created that sort of everyday sense even in the midst of the high drama.

This was a really good conclusion to the Lumatere trilogy.

ETA: Quintana is a hard book to read. It's easier the second time around when you know how it all ends. But it spends a lot of time with the characters far apart. Froi is running all over the place and also staying too long in places. I think that think that makes the second read hard is knowing what's going to happen and having to read through other things to get to it. Also, I don't like the first third because Isaboe and Finnikin aren't themselves. They're too reactionary; too dramatic without know exactly what they're doing. Isaboe especially is strategic. She's ruthless but always with a good cause, rather than acting on half baked information. And Finnikin's talks and listens and the second Froi shows up I can't imagine him doing anything other than turning to him and asking a hundred questions. But in the end, it all works out. Which makes it a little bit wonderful.  

Also it's funny. Froi and Arjuro and Lirah and Gargarin are kind of hilarious whenever they're together. It's a very morbid, dry kind of humor but it makes me laugh every time.