The Wolf of Oren-Yaro (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen, #1)

by K. S. Villoso

'Intimate and epic' Evan Winter

'An action-packed plot and deep, vivid world-building' Melissa Caruso

'Intricate, intimate and intensely plotted' Nicholas Eames

'They called me the Bitch Queen, the she-wolf, because I murdered a man and exiled my king the night before they crowned me.'

Born under the towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien inherited a deeply divided kingdom, devastated by years of war. Her marriage to the son of a rival clan was meant to herald peace, yet her fiancé disappeared before their reign could even begin.

Now, years later, Talyien receives a message that will send her across on the sea. Yet what was meant as an effort to reconcile the past leaves her stranded in a land she doesn't know, with assassins at her back and no idea who she can trust.

If Talyien is to survive, she must embrace her namesake.

A wolf of Oren-yaro is not tamed.

Further praise for The Wolf of Oren-Yaro:

'Deeply compelling and wonderfully entertaining' Josiah Bancroft

'A powerful new voice in epic fantasy' Kameron Hurley

'[A] remarkable tale of non-stop tension, action and betrayal' Publishers Weekly (starred review)

'Balanced on a blade's edge between intrigue and action' Gareth Hanrahan

• ISBN10: 0356514455
• ISBN13: 9780356514451
• Publish Date: 6 February 2020 (first published 10 August 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Hmm...

I really liked this, and I was actually fully prepared to give it 4.5 stars, but the ending made me take it down to just four. I didn't like the direction it took.

I hated everything about Yuebek. I was glad when I thought his portion of the story had ended... then he turned out to have a bigger role than expected. And I didn't hate him in the way I usually like to hate "villains"... I didn't even yearn to see him dead; I just thought he was so annoying and stupid that he wasn't worth my time to read about. Usually I want to savour taking out a villain, but in this case I was thinking more like, "Just cut his throat so we can move on."

Then Rayyel... I did really want him to be the bad guy, so I was disappointed when it seemed Yuebek was the bad guy instead. Then Rayyel turned into a bad guy again, but not in the way I wanted... I wanted Rayyel to be the bad guy because he was suddenly ambitious for the throne and wanted to take over and kill Talyien. But instead, Rayyel was the bad guy because he was feeling stupidly insecure about Talyien having "cheated" on him, despite Rayyel also having cheated in the exact same circumstances... but somehow that's not a problem when he does it, and it's only a problem when Talyien does it? Fucking hypocrisy and the need for women to be "pure" before marriage, but not men. That whole concept just made me lose my love for the idea of Rayyel as a "villain". Instead he was just aggravating.

Frankly the ending really left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and despite enjoying most of the story I'm not sure I'm going to continue with the series.. But we'll see.

[Veronica 🦦]

A-/B+ | Despite the fact that Talyien was one of the most frustrating characters I have read this year, I truly enjoyed this magnificent, character driven novel with its lush Filipino-coded world. Talyien is surely one of the most interesting characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. The worldbuilding is woven into the story in such a superb way that I could vividly see, smell, feel, hear, and taste the universe. This adult fantasy novel is unapologetically Filipino and it reflects so much of both the good and bad aspects of Filipino society, particularly the struggles of Filipino women. It is a thrill ride full of heartbreak, betrayal, love, family, duty, and politics.

Full review to be posted at a later time on my blog.