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The Bandit King (Romances of Arquitaine #2)
by
Lilith Saintcrow (Goodreads Author)
Tristan d'Arcenne is what he always wished to be--Vianne di Rocancheil's Consort. But Vianne is no more a noblewoman, she is the Queen of Arquitaine, faced with treachery, invasion, war, and a Consort whose secrets may well shatter their marriage. For before Tristan was hers, he belonged to a King...and that King died by Tristan's hand.
Arquitaine needs them both. The count...more
Arquitaine needs them both. The count...more
Kindle Edition, 1st Edition, 252 pages
Published
June 1st 2012
by Orbit
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CAUTION: Spoilers
The second and final book in the Romances of the Arquitaine series, The Bandit King (TBK) immediately picked up where book 1 ended. However, this time the story was told from Tristan's 1st PoV instead Vianne's.
The Characters
+++ Tristan
In book 1, Tristan was a take-charge, do-whatever-it-take character. He was dangerous, he was deranged, he was completely obsessed with Vianne. In book 2, he was an emo.
In book 1, the instant love of a romance was messed up but compelling. In book...more
The second and final book in the Romances of the Arquitaine series, The Bandit King (TBK) immediately picked up where book 1 ended. However, this time the story was told from Tristan's 1st PoV instead Vianne's.
The Characters
+++ Tristan
In book 1, Tristan was a take-charge, do-whatever-it-take character. He was dangerous, he was deranged, he was completely obsessed with Vianne. In book 2, he was an emo.
In book 1, the instant love of a romance was messed up but compelling. In book...more
4 likes · like · see review
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Also Found On: A Book and A Record
When I reviewed The Hedgewitch Queen I had (obviously) not read the second one. So some of the problems that I had with the first one were redeemed in the second because the slowness I felt in the pacing of the first was really a setting up of sorts for the second. Phew, I hope that made sense, probably not.
Anyways, The Bandit King is told from Tristan’s point of view. Now Tristan was the character that kept me interested in the series so I was pretty excited to...more
When I reviewed The Hedgewitch Queen I had (obviously) not read the second one. So some of the problems that I had with the first one were redeemed in the second because the slowness I felt in the pacing of the first was really a setting up of sorts for the second. Phew, I hope that made sense, probably not.
Anyways, The Bandit King is told from Tristan’s point of view. Now Tristan was the character that kept me interested in the series so I was pretty excited to...more
WTH? I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm hoping this is a political move on Vianne's part. I mean, who does that to their husband? And I thought Vianne was a bit of a dramatic ninny in Book 1, but I sort of forgave her for it because it worked. But Tristan is a bit of a girl himself. Not sure how much I'm liking that. Even the guard and Tris' parents are into the dramantics. Saintcrow, what are you doing to me?
3 likes · like · see review
I'm only giving this book 3 stars, rare for me for a novel by Lilith Saintcrow because I love her writing so much. (Seriously, Saintcrow is an auto-buy author for me. If she wrote a new version of the phone book I would pre-order it and count down the days until it was released with that bouncing-in-my-chair kind of eager anticipation.) I liked the first book, The Hedgewitch Queen, and I pre-ordered this one as soon as Amazon put up the button. It wasn't completely terrible--a ringing endorsemen...more
1 like · like · see review
It was a great read as good as Hedgewitch Queen. I wasn't disappointed!!!
I liked The Bandit King as much as I did The Hedgewitch Queen. Wheb I first started reading The Bandit King , I was kind of horrified by Vianne treatment of her Consort, Tristan. But after reading chapter 10, I re-read the The Hedgewitch Queen again as I wanted re-familiarize with Vianne thought process, her internal struggle and her insecurities again. In the Hedgewitch, from her perspective, Tristan seemed and appeared in...more
I liked The Bandit King as much as I did The Hedgewitch Queen. Wheb I first started reading The Bandit King , I was kind of horrified by Vianne treatment of her Consort, Tristan. But after reading chapter 10, I re-read the The Hedgewitch Queen again as I wanted re-familiarize with Vianne thought process, her internal struggle and her insecurities again. In the Hedgewitch, from her perspective, Tristan seemed and appeared in...more
I read some of the reviews before reading this book, and I feel like that was a mistake; I almost didn't read the book, but I'm glad I did.
Personally, I found The Bandit King more enjoyable than The Hedgewitch Queen, and unlike some, I didn't find Tristan overly annoying. I loved Tristan's character in the first book, but thanks to the reviews I read, I was convinced I would hate him. At first, I only read the book to see how Saintcrow would answer specific questions and loose ends, but as i go...more
Personally, I found The Bandit King more enjoyable than The Hedgewitch Queen, and unlike some, I didn't find Tristan overly annoying. I loved Tristan's character in the first book, but thanks to the reviews I read, I was convinced I would hate him. At first, I only read the book to see how Saintcrow would answer specific questions and loose ends, but as i go...more
Not sure why anyone has trouble with the language. Maybe it's because I speak French, and the quasi-French terms are easily recognizable to me....but still. A basic grasp of vocabulary lets you figure it out.
Anyway, wasn't quite as engaging as the Hedgewitch Queen but I liked the intensity of Tristan. A few times, I found myself wishing for Vianne's POV again as she was so hard to read. The political stuff was excellent as always; that's what makes these books for me.
BUT... Three stars because S...more
Anyway, wasn't quite as engaging as the Hedgewitch Queen but I liked the intensity of Tristan. A few times, I found myself wishing for Vianne's POV again as she was so hard to read. The political stuff was excellent as always; that's what makes these books for me.
BUT... Three stars because S...more
Wow. Just, wow.
I thought Tristan was a bit sketch at the end of the last book. He broke vows, killed, and generally behaved very badly to get to be with Vianne. Now he is married to her, and I want to take her to a battered woman's shelter. The story is told entirely from his perspective and we get to watch him go through his cycle of abusiveness over and over again, like a creepy textbook example.
Step 1: Abuse
Step 2: Remorse/self-justification
Step 3: Appeasement
Step 4: Victim-blaming
Bonus: Jeal...more
I thought Tristan was a bit sketch at the end of the last book. He broke vows, killed, and generally behaved very badly to get to be with Vianne. Now he is married to her, and I want to take her to a battered woman's shelter. The story is told entirely from his perspective and we get to watch him go through his cycle of abusiveness over and over again, like a creepy textbook example.
Step 1: Abuse
Step 2: Remorse/self-justification
Step 3: Appeasement
Step 4: Victim-blaming
Bonus: Jeal...more
I was intrigued by Tristan in the first book (the hedgewitch queen) but this book made me loathe him.
He's a worm. A gutless, cowardly worm.
This is a romance for crying out loud. I can't read romances where I despise the man!
I mean really. This book makes Heathcliff look positively gallant. At least Heathcliff had convictions and all his actions were motivated by obsession for Cathy and outright anger at his upbringing.
Tristan just snivels and whines and continues to let others do the hard thi...more
He's a worm. A gutless, cowardly worm.
This is a romance for crying out loud. I can't read romances where I despise the man!
I mean really. This book makes Heathcliff look positively gallant. At least Heathcliff had convictions and all his actions were motivated by obsession for Cathy and outright anger at his upbringing.
Tristan just snivels and whines and continues to let others do the hard thi...more
Finished The Hedgewitch Queen and The Bandit King (The Romance of the Arquitaine) by Lilith Saintcrow just this morning. HQ is h's POV, BK is H's POV. All of this made for some really interesting reading. Essentially, it's a retelling of English history, just in Fantasy --- but there's a definite HEA. I really enjoyed them both, but I'm also a Saintcrow fan so I may be a bit biased, and I'd give them a solid 4.5/5*. High on the entertainment - never boring, which is hard to pull off with some of...more
I really liked The Hedgewitch Queen, and I was excited to pick this up and see how the storyline plays out. I should have left well enough alone and kept my impression of the characters I liked from the first book, because they all seem to devolve into colossal morons or total loonies in this installment. Not to mention physically and emotionally abusing one another at every turn. And, nothing much is resolved from the political intrigue of the first book, so I wouldn't have found out what happe...more
Even more so than its predecessor, this book sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. Tristan's pain at Vianne's lack of trust and apparent lack of affection was heartbreaking. You kept waiting and waiting for her to change her mind, or to discover it was all some elaborate deception. How could she not see how much he loved her?? (Granted, he never did transform to the most eloquent of men.) In that sense, it was actually rather frustrating, never getting anything from Vianne's POV, but you had to r...more
This was a different type of story that I normally associate with Lilith Saintcrow, her series are usually around 5 to 6 books long and have lots of action. In contrast this was a series of two books in which the love story seemed to be the focus. It was also in a different setting with a european flavor and could be set in 12 or 13 century. A king has died and the story that follows centers on two characters, Vianne and Tristan. In the first book, the story is told from Vianne's point of view a...more
All of Lilith Saintcrow's writing strengths are present in this fantasy novel, beautiful, lush writing, complex, rich characters, and a twisting, engaging plot. While in the past, her heroines have dominated her stories, Tristam takes center stage in this series. Tristam is not a good man. He is a murderer, liar, and thief, among many other things. His love for the hedgewitch queen is obsessive and dark. As the hedgewitch queen fights to save her country from an usurper and his horde of foreign...more
The follow up to Hedgewitch Queen--my favorite part was the shift in perspective and the bits of overlap with the previous novel that enriched the detail of the world. Again not too long a book. The story was a bit simple for traditional high fantasy but when you sacrifice length it makes sense. This was not as good as the pace was a bit start and stop in places. Also the protagonist was a bit tortured for my taste---internal monologue moaning is not my thing. I enjoyed finishing the story and I...more
After enjoying book 1, this book left me a little angry and disappointed. I found it over-long (I kept wishing the author would hurry-up and get to the point) and at the end I was asking myself - 'Huh??? Is this supposed to be a trilogy or long series or what?' The many twists and turns of the story got to be a bit much for me, though some may like it. I had been looking forward to this installment, so it makes me sad to say it did not live up to the promise of "The Hedgewitch Queen." Of course,...more
I was so frustrated after reading this book. Which says it's a good book to me.
I'd imagine I was frustrated just as much as Tristan was ... trying to following his Queen. I was frustrated because I was reading a story through the eyes of a stubborn man, who has no idea how to process feelings ... except by fighting and feeling sorry for himself at every turn.
As I was reading, I wasn't sure the ending would come to my liking ... but it ended well. And I realized this book was everything it shou...more
I'd imagine I was frustrated just as much as Tristan was ... trying to following his Queen. I was frustrated because I was reading a story through the eyes of a stubborn man, who has no idea how to process feelings ... except by fighting and feeling sorry for himself at every turn.
As I was reading, I wasn't sure the ending would come to my liking ... but it ended well. And I realized this book was everything it shou...more
I haven't read all of the author's book so I can't make a hasty proclamation, but it seems she almost never writes about nicely functioning relationships. Of course every relationship is a struggle to make it work, but in her books, love is such a twisted and messed up power struggle that it's almost painful to read. Manipulation, silence, and the sense of betrayal dominate the scene.
You are left wondering if they will ever get a happily ever after, even though the couples remain together. And T...more
You are left wondering if they will ever get a happily ever after, even though the couples remain together. And T...more
If Hedgewitch was Vianne's story, the Bandit King (despite its name) is Tristane's. Mostly is Tristane trying to survive his lies and deceptions and being outwitted every time by V. (We only get his point of view.)
Most of the story revolves around Vianne's so we actually miss how he's trapped until he realizes it. Unfortunately this also means we don't get how she uses the Arix (in the first book she couldn't, it used her) and why she needs him. The story revolves around the war, too, so we have...more
Most of the story revolves around Vianne's so we actually miss how he's trapped until he realizes it. Unfortunately this also means we don't get how she uses the Arix (in the first book she couldn't, it used her) and why she needs him. The story revolves around the war, too, so we have...more
I really liked this book despite having several reservations about it.
As the teaser at the back of The Hedgewitch Queen implied, this novel was entirely from Tristan's point of view. I don't want to get into spoilers, so I can't discuss the plot in any meaningful way.
What I can say is that this novel changed the way I thought about Tristan. After finishing it, I went back and did a quick reread of HQ, and I could see that he does display behavior that provides clues into his thoughts. However, i...more
As the teaser at the back of The Hedgewitch Queen implied, this novel was entirely from Tristan's point of view. I don't want to get into spoilers, so I can't discuss the plot in any meaningful way.
What I can say is that this novel changed the way I thought about Tristan. After finishing it, I went back and did a quick reread of HQ, and I could see that he does display behavior that provides clues into his thoughts. However, i...more
I really loved The Hedgewitch Queen, book #1 in this series. A bit like Maria V. Snyder's writing it was just charming and fast-paced enough to have your undivided attention till the very end of the book.
However, The Bandit King is written from Tristan's point of view, so there is no Vianne's input only his descriptions of her actions which makes the book pretty dry and emotionally exhausting. He goes through some really deep, painful feelings, gets his heart broken and all his hopes crushed.
Tr...more
However, The Bandit King is written from Tristan's point of view, so there is no Vianne's input only his descriptions of her actions which makes the book pretty dry and emotionally exhausting. He goes through some really deep, painful feelings, gets his heart broken and all his hopes crushed.
Tr...more
Not as good as The Hedgewitch Quern but a decent finish to the story.
It's nice to see Tristan's point of view and gain a better understanding of his motivations and actions. He really is devoted to Vianne to the point of madness.
The language is still jarring and I again found myself glossing over terms and names. As a few names are also very similar I got a bit mixed up.
The ending is neat and the series doesn't require andy additional instalments, but saying that it is open for sequels.
It's nice to see Tristan's point of view and gain a better understanding of his motivations and actions. He really is devoted to Vianne to the point of madness.
The language is still jarring and I again found myself glossing over terms and names. As a few names are also very similar I got a bit mixed up.
The ending is neat and the series doesn't require andy additional instalments, but saying that it is open for sequels.
I enjoyed this book! Vianne’s character is better developed in this book and isn't as whiney as she was in the previous. I like and respect her as seen through Tristan’s eyes. And despite everything, I do love Tristan. I find myself yelling at him quite a bit for his stupidity and his inability to trust in Vianne. But despite that I find that I'm still a sap and his motive (love) dispels my dislike for him, well almost.
I felt like this book has a really great ending, everything ended up they wa...more
I felt like this book has a really great ending, everything ended up they wa...more
My feelings have not changed since the first book. I'd hoped this one would be slightly better, since it's told from Tristan's POV instead of Vianne's. I was wrong. She stole his brain, and he spends most of the book rolling around in angst while more interesting things go on elsewhere.
In fact, my little opinion of Tristan plummeted. At the end of the first book, there's a "twist" where we find out that (view spoiler)...more
In fact, my little opinion of Tristan plummeted. At the end of the first book, there's a "twist" where we find out that (view spoiler)...more
I must say this follow up to The Hedgewitch Queen was even better than it. Not sure if this was the end or if there will be more than the pair. Lots of action in this one, and it was refreshing to have the continued story told by Tristan rather than Vianne. Loved the twist at the end regarding the coronation! I haven't decided if the bastardization of French and the geography of Europe is a yay or nay; it's different, to be sure. Very entertaining read, nonetheless.
Much much better than the first book. The Hero is revealed to be dreadfully flawed, and the heroine grows up and loses her naivete. The only thing that was jarring was that Vianne (the heroine) seemed to all of a sudden become imperial... how would she know how to act? What decisions to make? I found that these questions took away a little of the believability of the story.
A strong end to the duology beginning with The Hedgewitch Queen. However, my issues were more with Tristan than the story. I found him to be a hard protagonist to like, or sympathize with, and was wishing Vianne would toss him off by the end. The ending was not a surprise, which was a little unfortunate, but still worth a read, especially as a different slant for Saintcrow.
I enjoyed the story overall. I wanted to know what happened after the first book. I liked the characters, for the most part, in the first book but I didn't like them as much in this. Tristan beat himself up constantly, and never thought he was good enough. It annoyed me half way though the book as it was solely his point of view. There was nothing endearing about the characters in this book. I just wanted to know how the story ended.
I was really looking forward to this one, as I did get sucked into the first book. I found the quasi-French language to be a little irritating, sure. Ya, and maybe the heroine was a little weak (I think she spent half the book unconscious), but I found Tristin to be a good hero for her (why yes, yes he is flawed. A good hero should be flawed!). So the idea of the sequel to be his story sounded like a great idea!
What a huge disappointment. Again, I felt all the action took place somewhere else. (...more
What a huge disappointment. Again, I felt all the action took place somewhere else. (...more
I had to read it cause I was hooked on the first book but this one starts out with a rape. But it is the story of a man changing and I wanted to know what the Queen was going to do. Very clever and I should have seen what was coming but didn't. There are some really slow moments. But being in San Francisco bored during the day I read it.
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Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years old. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, in a house full of stray cats and children.
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