Reviewed by bookishzelda on
When I first started reading and Brienna is first taken to Magnolia House, I was almost worried. Like gah what is her life going to be here. I instantly fell in love with the setting. The closeness of the girls and how supportive the Madam is. I loved the special bond that they had all formed as Ardens and Arials. There was no mean girl drama and even though there might have been a little competitiveness when it came time to find a patron. It wasn’t because anyone was trying to be mean or evil. This is one of my favorite things about the story.
The romance is sort of slow burning. Being that the relationship between the two is complicated. There are some really cute scenes that had that make me smile type affect. As much as I wanted there to be more with the two, I also kind of liked that there was time apart. It allowed Brienna to focus on other things.
The political plot was really interesting. The land of Maevana has always been ruled by a Queen until due to some circumstances it was overthrown and ruled by an evil King. They are trying to restore the female bloodline to its correct place on the throne. So it was a lot of powerful women in history and the book which is always good to see.
I think because the book is like a standalone. It made it so things had to move much faster, which kept the pace moving. I think what would normally have been the planning phases of the battle, was more of the background thing. There is a lot of action in the second half of the book and Brienna comes in to complete the final piece. She finds herself following visions in order to right some wrongs that had been done in the kingdom. Although I did see that yes indeed a book 2 is coming.
I really enjoyed The Queen’s Rising and raced through it. I loved the way the girls interacted with one another and the way the systems of passions work. As well as the politics that play an interesting part.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 November, 2017: Finished reading
- 9 November, 2017: Reviewed