The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms Universe, #2) (The Seven Realms, #2)

by Cinda Williams Chima

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 that 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 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.

Everything changes when Han and Raisa’s paths cross, in this epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

Reviewed by Leigha on

3 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 23 January, 2018: Reviewed