The Exiled Queen: The Seven Realms Series Book 2 (Seven Realms Universe, #2) (The Seven Realms, #2)

by Cinda Williams Chima

The second book in an epic fantasy series from Cinda Williams Chima. Adventure, magic, war and ambition conspire to throw together an unlikely group of companions in a struggle to save their world. 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 soon 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.

• ISBN10: 000738422X
• ISBN13: 9780007384228
• Publish Date: 3 February 2011 (first published 28 September 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 June 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 592
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

First off, let me just say how much I LOVE this series!! It amazing! Amazing characters, political intrigue, romance, action, adventure…it has it all!!

This book starts off pretty much where The Demon King left off with both Han and Raisa on different routes to Oden’s Ford. Cue the adventure!! The adventure and action starts right away, instantly gripping the reader in this most epic of epic fantasies!

This book contains an intricate and intriguing plot that will keep you wanting more! This book is through the different POV’s of Raisa and Han and their journeys, though seemingly separate, come together gracefully. This book is full of betrayals and changing allegiances. You never know the truth, who to trust, or who is a friend or an enemy.

This is a book full of amazing characters! I actually grew to love Raisa more in this book. She had to learn to listen to others and do hard work instead of having everything done for her. She’s headstrong, independent, and determined. She learns so much about her country and her people and knows what needs to be done to help her country. This helped her grow into an amazing young woman who I know will one day be a great ruler! Amon…although I love him, he sometimes annoyed me. Of course, there is a reason for this, but still. However, I LOVE Han! Ohhhh so much! Smart, witty, adventuresome, a thief with a sense of honor…Oh I do love him!
I even fell in love with the secondary characters! Every single one of em, good or bad.

The World building is excellent! I honestly can’t wait to return to this book in the next series! If you want a book of epic proportions with just the right amount of everything, then definitely start this series!

[ross91]

A great sequel!

[Leigha]

Two people from two very different backgrounds unite to stop a common threat in this action-packed series.

As part of the Beat The Blacklist Challenge over at NovelKnight, I decided to read a series languishing on my TBR pile. I choose the Seven Realms series as it's complete and available at my local library. I’ll be writing an overview of the series rather than a review of each book, but I will attempt to be as spoiler free as possible.

I just don't know what to say about these books. It was good, but not great. It was fun, but not enthralling. It was action-packed, but not thrilling. It had so many elements I usually enjoy in a fantasy romance, and yet it never truly captured my attention.

I can't really pinpoint my disappointment. The characters are well-developed, particularly Raisa. She had the best character growth, although Han's character moments were not bad either. The world-building, plot, and secondary characters are all unique and interesting. The pacing at times felt too rushed or too slow, particularly in the first novel. However, I can usually overlook pacing issues if the characters and setting pull me into the story.

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a fantasy romance when I read the novels. So while I didn't really connect to the series, I don't think it's necessarily the series fault. I lay the blame completely on me.

tl;dr While I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I anticipated, others interested in action-packed narrative with well-developed characters should enjoy it.

[alisoninbookland]

This story is still a bit slow moving but I didn’t mind it as much this time around. I think listening to it made it much more enjoyable to take the ‘slow’ path.

I really liked the character growth of Han and Raisa in this book. Raisa is slowly gaining strength and independence. She’s not some crazy strong warrior woman because that would be a bit silly. She’s still Raisa but with a bit more. She’s learning to juggle her personal struggles with ‘professional’ struggles. What she wants isn’t necessarily what’s best for the Queendom.

Han is learning to navigate a completely different world. He did well but I appreicated that he knew he needed help and was able to ask for it. Well…he didn’t always ask for help but he’s starting to learn his limitations.

I was okay that most of the politics of the series took a back seat to the education of Raisa and Han. There were hints of what was going on back home and think the future books will tackle those politics.

I really enjoyed this as an audiobook! I think I’m going to finish up the series by listening to them.

The bottom line? Why did I wait so long to get back to this world? I really enjoyed it.

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[KitsuneBae]

The pacing has at least improved. Raisa is still an annoying lip whore. When it comes to the matter of kissing boys, she's easily persuaded. Dammit!

[neddieb]

This book was so much better than Book 2. Unlike Book 2 where it started slow (I was about to abandon it until I reached Chapter 13) Book two totally peaked my interest from the first Chapter. The writing was great. The storyline captivating. There was not a dull moment in this book.