The Queen's Rising

The Queen's Rising #1

by Rebecca Ross

When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron.

Growing up in the southern kingdom of Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her. While some are born with a talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she chose knowledge. However, despite all her preparations, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true: she is left without a patron.

Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, she reluctantly accepts. But there is much more to his story, for there is a dangerous plot to overthrow the king of Maevana—the rival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involved, some closer to Brienna than she realizes.

With war brewing, Brienna must choose whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood. Because a queen is destined to rise and lead the battle to reclaim the crown. Who will be that queen?

With gorgeous description and detailed rendering of a world where not everything is what it seems, debut author Rebecca Ross weaves an intricate tale of revenge, loyalty, and, ultimately, self-discovery.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, High Fantasy

439 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2018

About the author

Rebecca Ross is the New York Times and #1 Sunday Times Bestselling author of fantasy novels for teens and adults. She lives in the Appalachian foothills of Northeast Georgia with her husband, their lively Australian Shepherd, a flock of chickens, and an endless pile of books.

DIVINE RIVALS, SISTERS OF SWORD & SONG, DREAMS LIE BENEATH, and The Queen's Rising Duology are her titles for teen readers. The Elements of Cadence Duology (A RIVER ENCHANTED and A FIRE ENDLESS) are her novels for adults.

When not writing, she can be found reading or in her garden, where she grows wildflowers and story ideas. Find her on Instagram @beccajross or online at www.rebeccarossauthor.com.

Rebecca is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate giving one star to any book, especially those that didn't particularly piss me off or anything like that, but I just didn't enjoy The Queen's Rising one little bit. I think I almost died of boredom.

It feels derivative of many other YA fantasy books but that alone isn't the problem - a lot of YA fantasy authors retell the same old recycled premise and some even manage to make it exciting; breathe new life into it with colourful characters or beautiful writing. Unfortunately, though, The Queen's Rising has no compelling hook. There was no moment where I felt pulled into the story, needing to know the answers and the fate of the characters.

The slow start gives way to an even slower middle that builds to an easy-to-predict climax. Where is the suspense? The questions? The heart-pounding thrills? There are none.

The Queen's Rising opens with Brienna being allowed to become an arden - an apprentice of sorts - at the esteemed Magnalia House, despite showing no real inclination towards any of the five passion fields: art, dramatics, music, knowledge and wit. It is clear that she is only accepted because her grandfather revealed some super secret information about her family and heritage.

It is especially strange how the story acts as if there is a whole mystery around Brienna’s family history, and yet there’s a convenient family tree at the front of the book, which spoils several reveals before the story has even begun. The shocking revelation of who Brienna is should shock literally no one.

Brienna spends six years at Magnalia House, during which time she gossips with the other girls, talks about plays and portraits and dresses, and how to impress the masters so they get to "passion" at the end of their studies. And she pretends there isn't a blossoming romance between her and Master Cartier, though one predictably - and unnecessarily - develops. It is a tough few chapters to suffer through.

After Master Cartier gives Brienna an old book on Maevan history, she begins to have visions from the year the magical Stone of Eventide disappeared. She soon, of course, finds herself caught up in a plot to recover the stone, steal back the throne from King Lannon, and return it to the rightful queen.

I found the entire book mind-numbingly slow. It was one of those situations where I kept turning the page, sure that just around the corner was the moment it would grab me and drag me in... but it never happened. There were so many tedious cycles of studying and chatting and searching and visions and travelling and ballgowns. I wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't received an ARC for review.

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[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

"There's a man on Maevana's throne where there should be a queen."

I'm not a DNF-er, but by-gosh...sometimes I wish I was.

It literally took me over a year to read this book.

And it's honestly been so long since I have read the beginning that most of the book has faded from my memory (which is honestly...quite unusual) and I just feel a vague sense of disinterest when it comes to this one.

From what I remember, Brienna needs to go to passion school (not THAT kind of passion, but if it was...at least the book would be interesting).

She's to master one of the five passions - art, dramatics, music, wit and/or knowledge - but quickly finds out that she's not talented, witty or particularly smart.

But by-gosh, she's got pluck...so she keeps trying. And trying. And trying. Annnnnd...you get the point.

Eventually she settles on knowledge, despite not having an aptitude for it.

(Also, side note, I can see why they'd want to train the ladies in the other four traits but knowledge? It was like straight memorizing facts...why not just buy a few books and call it good?)

She gets paired up with Hotty McHotness for her tutor and immediately, you KNOW what kind of relationship they will have.

He was my master, and I was his arden, and until I passioned there was to be nothing more between us.

(Also, is it just me or is the use of "passion" in this book really awkward? Everyone is passioning left and right but as much as it sounds dirty, it's supposed to be pure and innocent).

Anyway, she eventually gets picked up by a patron.

"This is my daughter, Amadine Jourdain, adopted through passion,"

Which, is also weird, not only cause of the phrasing but also adoption?

At first I thought it was a business arrangement, like they're patrons and they want the arts but....then the patrons keep calling her their daughter. It's weird. Cause she's an adult now...not a penniless 12-year-old orphan.

Anyway, now that she has a new family, thanks to their mutual love of her passion...she gets embroiled in a plot to take the crown because of YA reasons.

Plus, in this world queens are superior, so we get a lot of clunky phrases like this:

"Wipe that off your face," his older brother sneered. "Come fight me as a queen would."

thrown in as the world building.

All in all, I'm glad I can finally mark this one as read but by-gosh I wish I never read it.

It just felt so drab and boring.

I didn't care about any of the relationships.

The plot felt tired and recycled. I just couldn't stand it.

I am willing to admit that maybe if I didn't take a 12 month break in the middle of the book that MAYBE I would've enjoyed it a bit more...but I also want to point out that it takes an especially bad book to make me want to take a year-long break.

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[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

$1.99 on Kindle US today 12/17/18

Magnalia House was the sort of establishment where only wealthy, talented girls mastered their passion. It wasn't designed for girls who were lacking, for girls who were illegitimate daughters, and certainly not for girls who defied kings. I, of course, happen to be all three of those things.

This book was everything to me! I loved it so very much. Was it full of action and fighting. No, not really and guess what? That's okay!



I have to admit when I first saw the beautiful cover I knew I had to have it and then I read the summary and thought it sounded pretty good and I took the plunge. I just wish I would have gotten to it sooner!

Brienna is brought to Magnalia House when she was ten by her grandfather. Brienna couldn't think why he would take her from the orphanage and bring her to this school. She had no passion she could think of but he wanted to tuck her somewhere safe. So he told the Dowager that she could do a little bit of all the passions: art, music, dramatics, with and knowledge. Well, it didn't go very good. You're supposed to have one passion and study it for 7 years and see if you can find a patron who will get you started in the world.

Brienna ended up going through all of the passions and ending up with knowledge for her last 3 years. Her master was named Cartier and he was a mysterious man. When Brienna and Cartier started talking about Maevana, things started to change. Maevana has a long history of Queens and magic, but many years ago some of the things that helped with this magic was stolen away and the Queen killed along with any survivors. And the King that sits the throne to this day will kill of any rightful heir he might find. They are the Kavanagh family and there is one daughter in hiding, waiting to take back the throne.

When Cartier gives Brienna a book about the stone and some more of the history, she starts having visions. And when everyone leaves the school and she's left without a patron, she finally tells the Dowager about her visions. To Brienna's amazement, the Dowager said she needs to get her with a patron that no one can know about. She can't write to her friends, her grandfather, or Cartier and let them know where she has gone. For she is going to Maevana where is it very dangerous and get that stone to get the rightful Queen back on the throne.

Brienna's patron is a man with the last name of Jourdain ad he takes her on as his daughter. It's all very cloak and dagger stuff, but it must be done and he's very kind to her. And will protect her with his life and he did on the road back home.

"One thing you should know about me," he murmured, nudging his empty bowl aside. "If anyone so much as threatens my family, I won't hesitate to kill them."

"I am not even your blood," I whispered, surprised by his steely resolve. I had only been his adopted daughter for one day.

"You are part of my family. And when the thieves tore apart your things, threw your books in the mud, threatened you . . . I reacted."

I didn't know what to say, but I let my gaze remain on his face. My embers of defiance and irritation faded into darkness because the longer I looked upon him, my patron father, I sensed that something in his past made him this way.

"Again, I am sorry you had to see such of me," he said. "I do not want you to fear me."

I reached across the table, offering my hand. If we were gong to succeed in whatever plans we authored, we would have to trust each other. Slowly, he set his fingers in mine; his were warm and tough, mine were cold and soft.

"I do not fear you," I whispered. "Father."

He squeezed my fingers. "Amadine."

They had to change Brienna's name to keep her in disguise just in case. So he named her Amadine. And she also has a new brother named Luc. They were all very kind to her.

Luc works with Brienna to help her figure out how to get her visions of her ancestors back. She does get more visions and knows where the stone is and how to get it.

She finds out who her father is and that's not a great day.

Brienna also finds love in all of this madness and revelations she never would have believed. She finds hope and a family. It was just wonderful. But you have to read it for yourself to see how you feel as I am but one person.

Happy Reading!

Mel ♥

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AMAZON: REVIEW

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super into this for the first bit, then I lost interest and was kind of bored, I found all the secret identities and family dynamics and court intrigues hard to keep track of. Honestly, the last 50 or so pages I ended up skimming because I was ready for it to be done. I had hoped that the dynamics and such would really grip me, but they just didn’t. So it was good, but not great!

[Brittney ~ Reverie and Ink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh man. This has some of the loveliest, most visual writing I've ever laid eyes upon. Like... every sentence.... every paragraph... was crafted so perfectly. I feel so inspired.

I feel like 90% of the time I come across pretty writing though, the plot is a bit lost. The good news? That isn't the case here. Rebecca Ross managed to create an utterly enchanting world and a rich, unique storyline that had me turning pages nonstop.

Brienna is a lovely, relatable MC who is taken to Magnolia House (think of it as a small, specialized boarding school) to grow up and study 'passions'. Normally, you have to have a certain skillset to attend such a place, but Brienna's grandfather manages to convince the headmaster to accept her, after sharing her father's true identity (except Brienna is kept in the dark on this matter.)Anyway, passions fall into five categories: art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge. Except Brienna can't seem to master any of them. She knows she wasn't admitted because of her skill, and that it had something to do with her heritage.

Anyway, she forms a bit of a... bond with one of the professors, but when the time comes for the students to leave with a patron, Brienna isn't chosen. Feeling rejected, the headmaster offers her a deal with a mysterious lord. Meanwhile, she sees memories of someone she believes to be her ancestor but is afraid to confide in anyone.

I can't say much more, but things get interesting as we learn of Brienna's real heritage and how it ties in with the dilapidated kingdom in the north. She winds up in a plot to retake her homeland and thus mystery, intrigue, magic, and romance ensues! (I will say this. Romance isn't the focus, but I was definitely sitting there most of the book thinking... JUST KISS DAMMIT. But don't go into this just for the romance - it is definitely a slow burn subplot.)

Anyway, this was SO close to a five-star read. The only thing holding me back was I felt like things were resolved so easily in the last 30%. Like there wasn't quiiiite enough conflict and everything kinda falls into place? And while I loved every minute with Brienna, I felt like the pacing in the middle lagged just a *touch*.

But nonetheless, I still REALLY enjoyed it and I highly recommend the read. Right now, it feels like a standalone, but my gosh I would love for another book in this world. I really can't brag enough about how fun of a read it was, and how immersed I was in the world.

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[High Lady of The Night Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

“That is a true gift, to help others see the world in a different way.”

This book turned out be something that I did not anticipate. The idea of the book itself is very simple and the story leads with the protagonist and the concept of Passions in this world. The first quarter of this book would steer you to believe that this story would focus directly on the life of the protagonist and finding her patron while it has so much more to offer. The plot is much bigger than just the protagonist and the cause more noble and dangerous than one could fathom. The main course of the story embraces the protagonist to lean into the other side of her heritage and find her purpose in a world where she was previously lost.

The story was captivating. The characters were enchanting and enhanced different aspects of the book and brought the best and, sometimes, the worst out of each other. The book maintained a steady pace and no shred was ignored. All the different pieces that went into the foundation of this book upheld both the characters and the story as we read it. The world is built wonderfully, the story opens with a focus on the school that the protagonist, Brienna, goes to, to study her passion.

Brienna struggles to find her true passion, and in the last three years of her studies she chooses to take on the passion of Knowledge. Now, when Brienna has to impress a patron with her knowledge, she is filled with anxiety and is sadly unable to gain any patrons. But this is certainly not the end of her journey. I was extremely impressed with Brienna’s character. While having all the good qualities we would want a protagonist to have, she is not unrealistically portrayed. Her character brought the best out in the world and the rest of the characters brought the best out in her.

“You are a daughter of Maevana. You are made of ancient songs and stars and steel.”

Brienna aside, all the other characters played an essential role in building the story. Her fellow students, her teachers, and her grandfather all play their own role in the plot and help expand the world. While we only read from Brienna’s perspective we do understand a lot about the other characters in the story.

I loved the emphasis on the history of the world, the sort of prophecies, and the magic (even the limited amount we see). The plot of the story involves a lot of the noble families of Maevana, so watching the past of the country as a whole and then how these families were affected individually is a fascinating journey. . The past of Maevana tells us of the presence of magic in the hands of the past queens of Maevana, and while not much of the magic is shown to us, the possibility of the return of magic sets a new pace for the plot.

You can see the stark contrast between those representing good and evil in the way they approach family, duty, honor, and loyalty during these tumultuous times.
The intensity and depth of emotions than runs through the veins of these books are mesmerising. The concept of justice, mercy, war, peace, and sovereignty are meted out flawlessly to the reader in the vibrant dance of a story is in the books. And it only gets better in the second one, which I am currently reading.

I was completely entranced by all the aspects of this book and rate it 5 stars.

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

RRs last three books have been 5 star reads for me, so i wanted to go back and try some of her earlier stories. and while i wouldnt say this book is terrible, its totally obvious that this is a debut novel.

i mean, this is your pretty basic/standard YA fantasy book in terms of plot. the characters are likeable, the world-building is decent, the storyline is easy to follow (even predictable at times), and the writing has a nice flow to it. theres nothing really unique or spectacular stands out for me to note, but this has all of the components that i am well-acquainted with and expect for the genre.

overall, i did enjoy this. yes, part of me does wish it was a little more distinctive, especially because i know RR is capable of creating some truly remarkable stories, but every author has to start somewhere, right?

↠ 3.5 stars

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I keep reading YA SFF and just not feeling like there is anything new or unique. I went into The Queen’s Rising expecting to feel the same, especially amidst all the lower reviews I kept seeing on Goodreads, but this ended up being a treat to read. I really enjoyed this, and I was constantly surprised by the twists and turns. The only negative thing I can say is that the romance is a little on the skeezy side, and I’ll talk about that below, but if the romance wasn’t in this book, or started differently, this would have been an easy five star read for me.

“Bow to no king”

In this world there are Houses, which are small boarding schools that specialize in five passions: art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge. If you have a natural talent for one of these five categories, you will go away to school once you are ten-years-old and begin your education that will last for seven years. And the unique thing is the House will only admit one child per passion for those seven years, and each child is given their own personal teacher that they will study under for the entire seven years.

And upon graduating, you will be declared a master of your passion and you will be given a very special cape, which you see the main protagonist wearing on the cover of this book. Each different passion has a different color cape that is given. A party/gathering will also be held where people will come from all around the world to offer you patronage to work under them and become almost part of their family. Whether that be touring the country with your music passion cape and a band of other musicians. Or maybe using your knowledge profession to work under a doctor that needs help. There is a vast array of different jobs a graduating passion will be offered.

Our story follows Brienna, a girl who has had the identity of her father hidden from her. After her mother’s life was taken much too soon, Brienna has been raised by her grandfather until the age of ten. At ten, Brienna heard her grandfather make a desperate plea to the headmaster/owner of the Magnalia House. Agreeing to help hide Brienna, she is admitted into the House and she chooses the passion of art!

Sadly, Brienna soon realizes that maybe her talents are not aligned with art, so year two she tries something else, and then something else year four, and year five, and finally upon year five she asks for Master Cartier to teach her everything it takes to become a passion in knowledge in only three short years.

And then the story truly takes place at the end of Brienna and her classmates’ seventh year, where they are all hoping to get the patron of their dreams. Brienna isn’t ready to say goodbye to the friends who have been her sisters for the last seven years. Especially Merei, who was her roommate and who studied the passion of music, and who was probably my favorite side character. Seriously, this book highlights the power of friendship between these two girls and I loved every single part of it.

This story also centers around the two countries of Valenia and Maevana that are connected by a channel. Valenia is way more forward thinking, where Maevana is ran by an evil dictator king, even though it is supposed to be governed by a queen. The Magnalia House is in Valenia, but that doesn’t mean that many of the girls will have to cross over to Maevana with their patrons.

Brienna ends up going on quite the adventure, that is filled with twists and turns that I honestly didn’t see coming. This book seriously shocked me numerous times, and the storylines were just so well crafted! This was such an amazing debut novel and I feel so very honored that I was given an ARC for it.

Okay, let’s just get the bad out of the way. The romance in this didn’t feel good to read, for me personally. I suppose I will say: this lone paragraph will have very minor spoilers! But honestly, you learn very quickly that a romance is going to bloom between Brienna and her teacher of knowledge, Cartier. Romance is never at the forefront of the book, and is nonexistent for a large majority of it, but it is still sprinkled throughout. Now, once things progress, Brienna is eighteen, but that’s not the problem I even had with this romance, it is the fact that this teacher, who Brienna has trusted, and respected, has known her since she was ten-freaking-years-old! Like, this has a “grooming” feeling all over it, and I could never get past it. And I could write this entire review about the power imbalance between these two individuals alone. Also, the professors are referred to as master in this book, and it feels exceptionally bad to read when Brienna kept calling Cartier it. This was my only complaint about this book. If you take this out completely, or pretend that Cartier is just a guy Brienna meets on her journey, then it is a five star book. Sadly, I couldn’t ignore it, as hard as I tried, and it was the only negative thing in this story for me.

“But I will say this: no matter which path you choose, I will follow you, even unto darkness.”

But again, if you ignore the minor romance that is sprinkled throughout, this book is perfection. And the writing? Lord, the writing in this is magical. It made an over 400-page novel seem like 200. I couldn’t believe how fast I was turning the pages. I just wanted more and more and more! The writing was so lush and lyrical! And it was the perfect mixture of whimsical, yet still so very bloody.

Another thing I loved about this story was that it really is a love letter to found families. It has a running theme of how unimportant blood truly is, but how the people we choose to love and support mean everything. You guys know that I’m all about books with found families, and this one truly celebrated them.

Also, this is the first book in a series, but another thing I really loved about this book is that it totally reads like a standalone. I am 100% completely and utterly satisfied with the conclusion of this book, and even though I can’t wait for more, I love that everything felt wrapped up, yet still gives the promise for so much more. I’ll take a wonderful ending like this over a cliffhanger any day of the year.

Overall, I loved this and I can’t wait to see what is next! This is one of the best debut novels I’ve read and is one of the best ARCs I’ve read so far in 2018. It was a breath of fresh air among all the other YA fantasy novels that just have not been doing it for me lately. This was wonderful, and I hope you all give it a chance, because the inside of this book is as beautiful as the cover.

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The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

[✨ Helena ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would appeal to fans of The Poison Study. Brienna and Cartier reminded me a lot of Yelena and Valek.

[Yusra ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I walked mindfully, my dress swallowing the last of my childhood as it whispered over the grass. I had prepared years for this one night, I thought, and breathed in the fragrance of the summer.
Where had time gone?
There was no answer as I welcomed the solstice.”

Wasn’t that beautiful? I agree. The publisher agrees, because he/she put this quote on the back of the hardcover.
But, this was not how the whole book was written. Some parts were rough, others almost melodic; which is why my heart is 50/50 on this book.

The truth is, this book was nothing special. In another time and place, I would find it lacking, but somehow it captured my interest. You’ve probably read this book before and it doesn’t exactly have the “wow” factor. But if you walk into it expecting nothing, it will give you that hint of satisfaction and interest. (i make no sense, i know, i have learned to accept that i shall never change).

pros

◦ the worldbuilding was done so well. I still wanted more, but it was amazing. Ross’ writing leaves breathing room for imagination and visualization, while continuously crafting a kingdom of fourteen houses and separate lands.

◦ Brienna was an acceptable main character; she doesn’t make stupid decisions, she naturally seems flawless?

◦ I have a connection to all these type of fantasy books with apprentices?? you know what I mean? I found the ‘passions’ to be fascinating.

also the FEMINISM. the maevans treat their women right, lemme tell you.

cons

◦ this is literally a ‘me’ problem and my lack of historical knowledge, but the atmosphere of a novel set in the 1500’s just wasn’t there. If you want me to feel historical vibes, don’t name some of the most powerful figures in the book “Tristan” and “Brendan”.

◦ I hate saying this, but it’s something that I can acknowledge as a reader. this was a debut novel, so the writing seemed very… debut. & despite loving and appreciating Six of Crows so greatly, it literally raised my standards too much. Like the sorry excuse for “planning” that the lords did was, uhm. lacking , and I’m no Kaz Brekker but I can plan better than that.

◦ everything seemed so… perfect? Like where was the action, the intrigue, the plot twists, the CONFLICT? Everytime something happened it just got resolved in a few chapters & that’s kinda boring.

◦ ok but - the shocking plot twist of who her father is literally will not shock you. The entire time she was around her father, i presumed she knew it was him & then he reveals it & SHE IS SO SHOCKED. Me: -_-

◦ family was thrown around like nothing. Brienna literally has like a million fathers (okay, she had two, but still) and the family dynamics just weren’t there. The man who adopts her and her foster brother all accept her and treat her as their own in the first few minutes of interaction and I? felt? nothing? I understand how this was supposed to make me feel all these ways but… I didn’t feel them.

◦ idk man, it was actually nothing special and I don’t have any clue why I liked this

◦ sure, sure, I liked Cartier and Brienna together but… it was unnecessary. Didn’t add to the story whatsoever, and the romance was bland too… so it’s a lose-lose situation. on the other hand, I appreciated the friendships between the Arden sisters but we didn’t get a lot of it :/

to any of you that have seen my recent update on my brain whilst writing reviews, this was what I was talking about; I had all these coherent thoughts in my head while reading, and then this is what came out.

& do I really want book 2?
at the same time, I can see this writer going places ; this is just a debut, I know there is so much more in store for her and can’t wait to see how she improves!

[Nadhira Satria · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 BRILLIANT STARS!

OH WOW OH WOW OH WOW. IM IN LOVE. This was one of my most anticipated release and bOI it exceeded all of my expectations?? I was hooked from the very first pages, I binged half of the book in one sitting. IT WAS AMAZING.

✨ What I liked ✨

1.The writing
The writing is just beautiful. It's honestly so good that it made this 439 pages book felt like 200. I love it so much.

2.Brienna
The main character is compassionate yet brave and determined. We can see her developing and finding herself and it's amazing. Her journey of finding herself and her place in the world to discovering and making peace with it is just nfkjdgndskjf wow.

3.World Building
*screams in 80 languages* THAT WAS SDKJGDG YES BITCH. The world building was one of the best thing in this book I'm so shook. It's so rich, so well plotted, so beautiful brb I'm crying I mean look at that gorgeous map

4. EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THIS BOOK IS JUST AMAZING


✨What I didn't like ✨

NOTHING


OVERALL

I AM IN LOVE. THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD IT'S NO DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST 2018 RELEASES I READ. IM SO SHOOK I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS.
YALL BETTER GO AND BUY THIS FROM YO BOOKSTORES SO WE CAN SCREAM TOGETHER.
I CAN ONLY REVIEW A BIT IN ORDER NOT TO SPOIL BUT OH MY GOD GO GET THIS AND READ IT

[✨ jami ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

“So we rise to the challenge knowing that the victory is already ours.”

The Queens Rising is getting a bit of hype here and there, and it has a wonderful cover, but this book was ultimately so disappointing for me.

books need a hook - something that makes you want to read on. This book had no hook for me. I didn't care about the characters, and the entire plot is fucking spoiled by a family tree on the first page !. So if you're gonna read this, DON'T READ THE FAMILY TREE, I BEG OF YOU. SAVE YOURSELF.

My favourite thing about this book was the worldbuilding. This book is loosely based off of 16th century Scotland but it had so many other elements interwoven into the worldbuilding that gave it lots of unique elements.

The first section of the book is about Brienna learning to passion - passioning is basically choosing one element of society (art, music, wit, knowledge, dramatics) and then mastering it. The process of becoming impassioned, and the selection process between students and benefactors was interesting, I really liked how the world was set up here.

I also think the court intrigue and politics that the action centred around were well constructed. The families and their histories were thoroughly explained and the court intrigue was definitely very rich. If you can enjoy a book purely for it's political intrigue and the way the characters have to maneuver around eachother you'd probably like this.

But for me, it wasn't enough. I found the pace of this book so incredibly slow. A plot didn't even start to form until about page 180. Urgh. Honestly, my problems with this book are fairly straight forward: I didn't connect to the characters, and I didn't find the plot compelling. So it flopped for me.

I also hated the romance. I dislike student/teacher relationships and it was so obvious what was going to happen. I didn't really feel the spark/chemistry between the love interests and so this element held no interest for me. Its also super fucking uncomfortable for me that the MC met the LI when she was TEN and has been apprentice since she was 14. Idk, it just does not feel good at all

Overall, I don't know what to say about this book except I just didn't like it by the end I was reading just to finish it. If you like politics heavy books you might enjoy this, but don't go into it expecting a tonne of action because there is none

ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T READ THE FAMILY TREES IT RUINS ALL THE TWISTS

[n a t]

“... no matter which path you choose, I will follow you, even unto darkness.”

what a stunning book!

my favorite part it’s the amount of background history, and the unexpected revelations that had me a little like this -> 😏.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“... I preferred quiet spaces and books over a room full of people.”

wow same!

[Trina (Between Chapters) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wooooowwww. I loved this so much! This started out set in a boarding school, has a touch of hidden lineage and ancestral memories, morphed into a quest to reclaim the throne and restore magic to the land, and ended with a Medieval style battle.

The writing was beautiful. There is a heavy use of simile and certain wording that I feel some readers may find repetitive, but it just worked for me so well.

My favorite thing about this is that it's not following the chosen one. Brienna does have a big role to play, but she is the Frodo instead of the Aragorn.

I felt this story wrapped up so well and could be a standalone. In fact, I was surprised to see it will be a trilogy. Although I feel this is perfect as is and I don't need any sequels, I will definitely be checking them out because I loved this one so much.

There is a romance between characters who were previously student and teacher. Nothing developed while they were student and teacher, but I think you could tell something was brewing. Wanted to point this out because I know many people have triggers for this romantic scenario.

[• Lindsey Dahling • · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book could’ve been a lot better if...

1. ...the pacing wasn’t so bad.
We legitimately watch Brienna hang out at school, telling us over and over how “lost” and “unworthy” she feels about her choice to passion in knowledge (after trying and failing most of the other passions) for SO MUCH OF THE DAMN BOOK. Then, suddenly, it’s the equivalent of graduation day, oh look—no one picks her, ahhh weird memories, yay random dude to become her patron, and now she’s a master swordsman. Then a bunch of riding in carriages, describing the sky/wind/flowers, war, okaythxbyenow.

Seriously. I need to see a doctor about the whiplash this book has caused.

2. ...this little known thing called character development happened.
I know, I know. I’m dreaming big here and asking a lot. But when I’m halfway through the book and I STILL don’t remember Brienna’s peers’ names, even though she constantly talks about how much she loves them, we may have a problem. And the problem isn’t my goldfish memory (for once). All seven of her classmates were basically the same generic sidekick friend. They just had violins, books, or paints as their unique dividers. Nothing else.

3. ...there was just A LITTLE BIT of depth.
I’m not asking for a lot here. All I want is for there to be something other than a generic bad dude and generic good dude. WHY IS THE BAD GUY A BAD GUY? I’m just a girl standing in front of a book and asking it to PLEASE JUST REALIZE IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE GENERIC, THEN YOU NEED TO AT LEAST GO DOWN THAT SECRET TUNNEL THAT LEADS TO THE NARRATOR OVERHEARING A CONVERSATION THAT MAKES THEM JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS AND MAKE SOME DUMB CHOICES AND THEN FIGURE OUT YOU CAN’T REALLY TRUST ANYONE AND THEN XOXO GOSSIP GIRL THAT SHIT.



I mean, really. Brienna only makes brilliant choices (I’m not being sarcastic) that lead to perfect results. Everything is tied up in a nice bow because she was easily able to predict everyone’s moves because THAT’S HOW BLAH THEY ALL ARE.



But, Lindsey....you’ve once again bitched about a book in all caps and run-on sentences. How could you possibly give it 3 stars?

The goddamn slow burn romance gets me every time. And this one did it pretty well.

[Charlotte May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I did enjoy this book. In fact I would have given it 4 stars. But there was one element that I could not get past and brought down the other redeeming features.

Let’s start with the good:
The World Building. Brienna has never known her father, and her mother died when she was a baby. Raised by her grandfather he evades all questions about her father. Managing to get Brienna into a prestigious boarding school where they work on one of 5 passions - wit, drama, music, art and knowledge.
Brienna struggles to find her true passion and when the time comes and her friends leave, she is given a new task. To work undercover to bring down a noble house who pushed the rightful queen off the throne.

So far so good. I loved the political intrigue and learning about the different noble houses and the history between Valenia and Maevana.

The writing was also very good, it kept a great pace and I was eagerly flicking through.

However, an element that was hinted at in the prologue eventually came to pass and left a sour taste in my mouth. The relationship between Brienna and Cartier. From the get go he is 8 years older than her and her teacher. I’m not a fan of teacher/student relationships anyway. But they met when she was 10 years old!!! And he was an 18 year old master - it’s just fucked up.
Yes, they don’t actually get together until she is 17 (still underage but there we are). But I just couldn’t get behind this at all.

I will still read the sequel because I’m intrigued to see where the plot will go. I’ll just have to try and ignore the ‘romance’.

[Neeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

When I think of some of my all time favourite books, they either have: a) beautiful, albeit kind of flowery writing b) a slow burn plot/romance/pace or c) both.
The Queen's Rising is one of the books that fell into the "both" category and I while I don't know what I expected from this book, I didn't expect this to become one of my new favourite fantasies!

The main character, Brienna is taken to Magnolia House (a boarding school with specialised learning for one of the five 'passions': art, music, knowledge, dramatics, wit) when she is 10 years old and while most people who become passions have a natural gift or talent, Brienna was accepted without due to the Headmistress feeling sorry about her parentage (which at this point, is still unknown to Brienna). Brienna tries out a few different passions eventually settling on knowledge, and despite not having a "natural gift" for it, Brienna's hardwork, determination and dedication becomes obvious in the text. Not only did I adore Brienna for all of these qualities, but I also loved how she was kind, loyal, driven and smart!

There is a huge cast of characters in The Queen's Rising, but not once did it feel confusing or overwhelming for me personally. I grew to like most of the characters and in particular, I loved the other five passion girls who I really hope we get to see more of in the next installment! Brienna's passion master (tutor), Cartier, was ONE OF MY FAVOURITES EVER. I honestly haven't liked a side male character this much in a very, very long time!

As I stated earlier, the plot is what I would consider to be slowish. There's not necessarily a lot of action and there is a mystery kind of element to it with lots of questions to be answered. A lot of the plot twists and questions were to do with Brienna's heritage and secret identities and there happens to be an arguably spoilery family tree at the beginning of the book. So I HIGHLY recommend skipping that altogether or just don't look at it too closely (like I did) so that way, a lot of the twists aren't spoiled before you actually start the book. There were a few plot twists I found a little predictable and some that completely took me off guard but I found the whole plot really enjoyable regardless!

The romance in this book is my FAVOURITE KIND OF ROMANCE. It's SUPERRRRRRRR slow burning but it was so exciting and swoonworthy (and I barely use the word swoonworthy). I'm not going to go into detail about who the romance is between and it's not even a major part of the book, but I can't express to you how much I loved it. I haven't felt so attached to a ship or pairing in a very long time. The romance was caring, careful, angsty and very sweet. I loved every second and I really, really need more omg

Rebecca Ross's writing is simply lovely. Her prose is flowery but still simple and her descriptions of Valenia, Maevana and the people in both lands, were exquisite. Ross's writing is the perfect blend of everything I love in a novel and I'm very disappointed this is her debut because that means I can't immediately read more of her beautiful words.

While I gave this 4.5 stars, I did knock off half a star simply because I felt like some things were a bit too neat. The ending in particular was in itself, an excellent ending, but it also felt things were resolved a little too easily? This definitely could have been a standalone but I am NOT complaining about there being more to come because ohmygodineedmorenow.

All in all, The Queen's Rising was a beautifully written, slow burn, immersive novel. It had excellent world building, a huge (but great) cast of characters and featured one of my favourite romances in a very long time. I seriously can not wait for the next installment (why did this JUST have to come out) and I'm kind of kicking myself for reading this so soon because now I have to wait longer.

(Again, to reiterate, there is a potentially very spoilery family tree at the beginning of the book so either don't look at it too closely or skip looked at it until after twists are revealed)

[Natalie Monroe · Rating 2 out of 5]

“One day, a queen will rise,” he whispered, as if the books had ears to eavesdrop. “Perhaps it will be in our lifetime, perhaps the one to follow us. But Maevana will remember who she is and unite for a greater purpose.”

My reading experience summed up in one gif:



The Queen's Rising takes a bunch of familiar YA fantasy concepts and fails to do anything new with them. We have the bring-magic-back-into-world quest, the find-a-magical-artifact scavenger hunt, a cruel, two-dimensional usurper king, and of course, the classic reinstate-the-rightful-queen-to-her-throne extravaganza.

Things happen, but they feel muted. There’s no urgency to this book, nothing that makes me want to keep turning pages. Perhaps it's hasty to say that Ross does nothing new—I did enjoy the lack of petty jealousies between the female ardens at Magnalia, where they train to be a passion in either wit, music, art, knowledge, or dramatics. There are strong sisterhood undertones to the narrative. But it's not enough to save this book from being a total snorefest. Some plot-turning decisions that characters make are really stupid, too. Allenach accepts his daughter back just like that. How dense and convenient can you get??

The romance is equally bland. Anyone with a gram of foresight could tell Cartier, Brienna's passion master, would be the love interest. The only saving grace is that this book isn’t romance-centric, so I got to snooze through the monotone plot instead of the romance.

The writing is nothing to write home about either (haha). It tries too hard and simply comes off as cliche and purple:

“He could feel the magic teem about her, as tiny flecks of diamonds in her armor, as stardust in her hair, as moonlight on her skin.”

Cover's pretty though.

ARC provided by Edelweiss

[sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely bloody unbelievable. I highly recommend y'all read this because if you haven't then you're missing out on a lot of action and political intrigue which might sound boring but I promise you the plot is amazingly fantabulous. Full RTC

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me by the first couple of pages. Rebecca Ross’ writing is very alluring and enchanting. Her words created a whimsical portrait of emotion, heritage and courage.


I recommend not going into this novel knowing too much, and being pleasantly drawn into to the story.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
1st book in the Queen’s Rising series. YA high fantasy.
At seventeen, Brienna studies for her passion (today’s version of humanities) of Knowledge in the kingdom of Valenia. She is approached for a secret mission to help dethrone the cruel king of Maevana. Deep into espionage, Brienna must decide who she can trust and who is just as likely to kill her.

The maturity of Brienna and the burdens she takes on are unimaginable. The visions she starts having change her life.
Filled with intrigue (after the first third) and danger.
I’m not sure the romance was necessary for her age but it added a safety net to her mission.
Overall I enjoyed the adventure and world building.

🎧 I listened to this book via Hoopla and my local library. The narration was done by Suzanne Elise Freeman who did a marvelous job with voice variations and emotional expression. Without benefit of the family tree and maps, some of the names and details were a bit murky.

[April (Aprilius Maximus)]

“She walks with grace upon the clouds, and the stars know her by name.”

representation: none from the 23% I read.

[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]

DNF at 23%

Unfortunately this just wasn't holding my attention so I decided to DNF. It just seemed like a generic YA fantasy that I've read a thousand times and I didn't find the characters or plot engaging enough to keep going :(

trigger warnings (only up to 23%): loss of loved ones (in the past).

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers Australia & NetGalley for the review copy!

[Cesar · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.

I was so disappointed by how dull The Queen's Rising was. After reading Emily May's review, a part of me should've known what I would not enjoy this book. In fantasy novels, I do like when politics and magic are involved, but The Queen's Rising was too boring for me to enjoy.

The Queen's Rising has politics and magic mixed in. By all means, I should've enjoyed it. But I didn't. Mainly it was because of the slow pacing and how boring everything was. I skimmed read the last part just so I finish it.

There was so much potential. Yet it was all squandered by a slow, boring plot. I would definitely recommend The Winner's trilogy. It doesn't have magic, but it has politics that is engrossing as well as having great characters.

Our protagonist Brienna is struggling to find her passion in life. Where she lives, a person can be trained under five passions: dramatics, wit, knowledge, art, and music. Brienna was brought to Magnalia house, a school to train for passions, under her grandfather's request and since then, she has yet to master what she wants to passion in. This brings up her past and how that past could be connected to a kingdom that is in desperate need for a queen.

What sounds like a promising plot is dulled down by slow pacing, a character that doesn't have a proper motive, and a lackluster world.

Brienna, as a protagonist, didn't make sense. What I mean is she didn't have a proper motivation to even be involved in the story. Yes, she has ties that could help take down a king, but when she is given the opportunity, she just jumps on that decision. She goes with the flow instead of thinking for herself. She just listens to those around her and follows their orders. You could argue that she's doing this because it's right, but even then she doesn't think for herself or even her own safety. Instead of just automatically agreeing with someone, she should've put more consideration into what she was getting herself into. She could die and yet she still goes with it because someone said so. A weak protagonist in my opinion.

The pacing of the story was slow. Like, turtle crawling slow. I was maybe invested for about a hundred pages before I started to get bored out of my mind by how slow everything was. I kept expecting for things to start getting interesting but nothing happened. It lost me so many times to the point where I forgot what page I was reading when I set it down for a while.

Speaking of the pacing, there's also an issue with how Brienna became quickly attached to the people around her. There are people who are complete strangers to her and she makes friends with them quickly. It just didn't make sense how she could form a bond so quickly with people she knows nothing about.

Then we have the worldbuilding which is basically nonexistent. Magic and politics are focal points of the story but are never fully explored or implemented into the story. It's just a bunch of there's-this-and-there's-that stuff and I did not like any of it.

Verdict

The Queen's Rising was a disappointment. I wasted my time reading a boring story with a weak protagonist. I sure as hell am not going to continue on with this series.

Thanks for reading my review!

-Cesar

[Lea (drumsofautumn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

♦ Video Review ♦



The Queen's Rising is one of the most promising debuts I have ever read. Going into this I was definitely hesitant. While this seemed like the kind of YA Fantasy I absolutely love, I also have incredibly high expectations for it.
But lo and behold, this blew me away! I would go as far as to say that this is the first book in the five years since I first read GRACELING by Kristin Cashore that came close to THAT kind of Fantasy that I love with all of my heart.



The Queen's Rising had a certain simplicity about it that I've always loved in the Graceling Realm trilogy. This is a story that does not need to rely on relationship drama or tropes to keep you engaged. It just does. Throughout +450 pages I didn't find myself bored by this story ONCE. I always wanted to continue, always wanted to explore more of the world and characters.

The main character, Brienna, is absolutely wonderful. She goes through an amazing character development. She starts as a strong character but throughout the novel she comes to terms with who she is, what she wants in life and proves how brave she is throughout her whole journey. Not once did Brienna make me sigh with annoyance or incomprehension which is also thanks to basically no use of tropes.

The world building and plot is exactly what I wanted from this book. It's a political story with an intriguing world building that was very easy to understand. I loved how we slowly unravelled the history of it all. There's much more I wanna know about the world and I can't wait for Rebecca Ross to explore more of that.
My eARC had family trees and a map, which I found absolutely gorgeous and can't wait to see in the final print copy. I would recommend not looking at the family trees until you read the book though.
The pacing was very well done too. It definitely has that "first book" kind of feeling but I thought even the slower parts were well done because they were packed with intriguing information. I found myself absorbing everything like a dry sponge!
Some things are predictable but it was never anything that took away from my enjoyment but rather a "OMG YES I KNEW IT" kind of triumphant moment!

There's some wonderful female friendship portrayed in here, which sadly gets stripped away from us way too early in the book, but no worries when you hit that point, we get more later on. The found family theme is STRONG throughout this book.
Now if you know me, I CARE about romance, like, a LOT and this romance did not disappoint. This was definitely what put me under its spell the quickest in this book. I was invested in TWO SECONDS. While the romance is a pretty strong theme in the beginning of the book, it's still a slow burn and something that I think even people with an aversion for romance won't mind. It definitely moves more to the background after the first quarter or so and is never something that leads to the main character making dumb decisions.
I found myself incredibly invested, not only with the romance, but with all of the characters and their relationships. WHY YES I DID TEAR UP A FEW TIMES OKAY. The feelings were STRONG in this one.

As you can see, there's not really any flaw for me to point out here. As I said, if you enjoy the GRACELING REALM trilogy I think you should give this a try. DON'T SCOLD ME IF YOU DON'T LOVE IT AS MUCH! I know that series is hard to beat but as I said, this is one of the rare book that came close to what I felt. I think it's also great for fans of THE REMNANT CHRONICLES by Mary E. Pearson, HIS FAIR ASSASSIN by Robin LaFevers or the STUDY TRILOGY by Maria V. Snyder.
Overall a great debut that, despite its similarities to other series, absolutely stands out in this genre!

♦ Booktube Channel ♦ Twitter ♦ Instagram ♦

I received an ARC of this through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!

[Chelsies Reading Escape · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queens Rising follows Brienna as she get pulled into a plot to overthrow the King of another kingdom. Thats not a spoiler since its mentionned in the summary, but I did find the Goodreads summary a bit misleading. In her kingdom people can study to become one of five passions; art, music, wit, dramatics and knowledge. After discovering she has no talent for the other passions Brienna finally settles on knowledge. Brienna was a likeable character and her struggle with her mixed heritage added some depth to the story. I loved the dog Nessie and how she was protective of Brienna. Animal companions in books are awesome.

The angsty romance was cute despite the age difference. I do wish the romantic interest had more personality. I liked him, but I felt like I didnt get to know him that well, which is the same way I felt about most of the characters. All the female friendships were really sweet and added a lot to my enjoyement. I loved Briennas relationship with her roommate Merei. There was also some heartwarming family dynamics when she gets adopted as a passion daughter. I really loved her patron and his fatherly protectiveness. Brieena wasnt forced to join the rebellion like the summary leads us to believe and I like it better this way.

I found the writing easy to get into. Plus the world was interesting with its the five passions, lost magic, and the differences between the two kingdoms. I do wish we would have gotten more information about the magic system though. I dont know if its because Ive been reading some historical fiction lately, but I felt like this had a similar vibe to it so if you like that genre you might really enjoy this. I thought the plot wasnt very original and had a pretty slow pace with little action to be seen until the very end. However it was refreshing to have Brienna helping the rebellion without being a lost princess.

Once Brienna finds out who's memories she was seeing it should have been obvious to her who her father was, especially with her having studied genealogy as a passion of knowledge. Theres also a family tree at the start of the book that defeats the purpose of the big father twist. The other major twist was also super obvious to me. I still really enjoyed the ending. It wrapped up so well that it could easily be a standalone. There isnt anything left unfinished so I have no idea where the author plans to take the next 2 books in this trilogy. Overall this book had qualities that made it enjoyable, but had nothing super exciting about it.

*received for review consideration*

[Maggie ☘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“But your art creates a window into another world,” I said, smiling at her. “That is a true gift, to help others see the world in a different way.”

I have slightly similar feelings toward this book as I have for Ash Princess, another new release of this year. These two books have very little in common, per se, it's the fact that both of them were on the enjoyable side, just not impressive or memorable in any way. Both of them felt like a compilation of other YA fantasies.

I didn't dislike any of the characters here, nor did I overly care about any of them. The MC, Brienna, was likeable enough, and I did like the various girl friendships she developed at the academy.

The romance was, well, iffy. The first time the MC met the love interest was at the age of 10, when she got into the academy of Passions. Then he became her Master (and she called him such, as the rest of the students, for most part of the book which that was extremely weird as well) of Knowledge when she was 14. At the age of 17/18, she started to develop a romance with him in this book, later on. And it's just very weird to me.. It's not about the fact that he's around 10 years older, which isn't all that uncommon especially in fantasy, but the fact that he knew her since she was a child is something I can't get past.

Each to their own. But in the end, I didn't hate them, nor did I loved them together. The fact that I didn't sense, couldn't sense, any romantic chemistry between them didn't help either.
Though thankfully, this book wasn't to much romance centered as that would've certainly affected my rating.

I liked the first half of the story, which took place at Magnalia House, the academy of Passions (art, knowledge, music, dramatics and wit).
The beginning (about 20%) of the second half was slightly boring and uneventful, but the story became more interesting once again in the last part.

The various plot twists were not surprising in the least, as the author foreshadowed too heavily, which made the revelations very unsurprising. And no, I didn't read the 100% spoilery family tree beforehead as I was warned about it so I just skipped all of them and then read it afterwards, and it was all still so obvious!

But overall, the storyline - along with some parts of the world building - might've been the thing that I was invested in the most in this book, though it was definitely more on the slow paced side.

What I really liked were the flashbacks the heroine had. Won't reveal more as it wold be a spoiler, but I really liked the parallels. Another positive thing was that the MC did not end up being the rightful Queen. I felt like the way the story has gone was more refreshing for YA. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for female MC's becoming monarchs and whatnot, but that doesn't mean I want every story to be this way. The ending and Brienna's overall journey suited her perfectly.

The writing was ok, but not as refined and beautiful as I thought it might be starting this book. I think it may've been the influence of the pretty cover or I probably read somewhere that the prose in this book was quite flowery. And yes, it tries to be rather purple and for a first book does fine, though the important word is tries and fails to be truly beautiful or striking or outstanding in any way. It seemed rather generic to me as the writing in other YA fantasies I've encountered recently.

I also did like the culture of Maevana, these people know how to treat women right! Maevana slightly reminded me of some kind of Norse (though some said Scottish) inspired culture. While Valenia, with its fashion and manners, reminded me of a Baroque time inspired period. Which made the two cultures an interesting contrasts to one another.

The cover is also pretty beautiful, the colour, all the shades of blue, the black edges, and constellations!

Overall, enjoyable, though more or less on the avarage side, YA fantasy. I don't have anything overly bad to say about this book, nor any glowing praise. It was a pretty great read for the time being.


“There are many secret doors around us, in plain sight. We just don't take the time to find and open them.”

[Bibiana In Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una ambientación alucinante en la que la autora te va adentrando poco a poco, hasta que formas parte de todo ese mundo. Unos personajes que me han encantado, aunque a veces me parecía algo precipitado algunas relaciones, pero que han conseguido que sufriera y disfrutara con ellos. La protagonista es una chica que tiene dudas, es alguien inseguro al principio y se aprecia una evolución a lo largo del libro, con un claro y determinante momento al final que te hace ver en quien se ha convertido. Me ha gustado mucho el tema de las pasiones, me ha parecido original y cautivador. El final me ha gustado mucho, aunque para mi gusto ha sido un poco precipitado, pero tal como acaba me da la sensación de que podría ser claramente un libro autoconclusivo, pero forma parte de una bilogía.

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

—Te aceptaré y te amaré entera, Brienna MacQuinn, con tus sombras y tu luz, porque me has desafiado, me has cautivado. Y no deseo a ninguna otra, más que a ti —susurró él mientras enredaba los dedos en mi pelo, en mis flores silvestres, y me acercaba a él.

IT WAS A REAL SURPRISE!!!
No pensé que me iba a gustar tanto y ´pues la verdad es que sí.
Tiene un estilo como la trilogía Del Ganador te da como el feeling no quiere decir que sea igual, pero referente a la época al estilo del mundo que creó la autora You Know

Yo pensé que el principio iba estar aburrido pero no me lo pareció me mantuvo entretenida sobre todo conociendo lo referente al nuevo mundo y luego el misterio de los personajes.

Lo que más me gustó es que no fue tan cliché la autora twist a la trama que no me los esperaba, creí que iba a ir en la línea como todos los libros de fantasía y distópicos de YA.

Los protagonistas me gustaron mucho pero como es típico mi favorito es CARTIER, fue lo mejor del libro lo amé.
Yo espero que en el siguiente libro haya más amor se necesita. Y frases como esta.

—Hace cuatro meses —dijo él—, creí que sabía cuál era el mejor camino para ti. Había llegado a amarte, tan profundamente, que quería asegurarme de que eligieras la rama que te mantendría cerca de mí.
Solo cuando te dejé ir te encontré de nuevo, del modo más maravilloso.

En cuanto al villano me pareció MEEEEH sólo apareció una vez en el libro no tuvo construcción ese personaje y ni digamos de la batalla final para el olvido. (estoy haciendo esta reseña una semana después de haberlo leído y ya se me olvidó )

Sé que hay una segunda parte pero fácil se puede leer como un libro autoconclusivo, sin necesidad de tener que leer el siguiente y eso es lo que me gustó.

En cuanto a la puntuación estoy un poco confundida porque en realidad no es un libro malo como para ponerle 3 estrellas pero tampoco es tan wow.

[Angelica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before I review this, here's some advice to future writers. If you are going to make your main character's parentage a mystery in your novel, maybe don't make the first page of said novel, a convenient family tree explicitly depicting your main character's parentage.

So, if you are going to read this book, don't look at the family tree in the beginning or a few plot twists in this novel will be pretty pointless. 

That said, on to the rest of the review.

I wanted to love this book. Lord knows that I did. I tried so hard to get into it and I just couldn't. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed with it because I think it had so much potential and yet, it failed to fully deliver in the way I hoped it would.

It seems that all the books I've been reading lately have been going at a snail pace and I legitimately worry that this might lead to a book slump because it gets easy to put these books down and I am half tempted to skim through them all. This was one of those slow books. Slow to the point of boring which was perhaps why I set it down for two days before continuing.

To make matters worse, there was very little action and basically no tension or suspense. All the problems get resolved rather conveniently as a way of simply moving along the plot, and all the twists and turns are visible from miles away.

Another problem I had with this book is that I felt the characters were pretty bland. I did love the friendship between Brienna and her arden sisters at the beginning but we didn't really get to know them all that well. A book can be lacking in a lot of things and so long as it has good characters I would easily give it 3-4 stars. Sadly, didn't feel connected to these characters. I wished there were all a bit more fleshed out.

Also, the romance here was first, extremely predictable. Second, completely unnecessary and quite tedious. Third, kind of inappropriate considering that he was a grown man who had watched her grow up for the past 10 years and she was just 17. But maybe that's just me.

All of this said, there were some things that this book did well. The writing was actually fairly decent and the world presented was interesting enough. My favorite part of this was learning about the family histories and seeing how the politics of each nation worked. Had there been a little more of that and I might have liked it more. Maybe.

Overall, I didn't hate this book and despite what I've just said, it wasn't a terrible novel. I know a lot of people who have read ARCs of this book and have loved it. Personally, I just didn't feel anything while reading this book. There was simply nothing to distinguish it from the hundreds of other YA fantasy novels I've already read, nothing to make me really remember this by the time the sequel comes out next year.

**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much HerperTeen! All opinions are my own.**

[Adrienne Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE QUEEN'S RISING is a fantastic, complex YA fantasy that hits all the sweet spots of the kingdom/rebellion tropes without feeling tired or overdone. The writing is so well seasoned, with beautiful descriptions and awesome character development. I also just kind of want the "bow to no king" tagline on, like, everything. Coffee mug, doormat, tank top, GIVE IT TO ME NOW. Highly recommend this book to lovers of YA fantasy.