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The Vanished Queen
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When a country is held in thrall to a vicious, despotic king, it’s up to one woman to take him down.
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.
But after finding the missing queen’s diary, Anza—impassioned by her father’s unjust execution and inspired b ...more
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.
But after finding the missing queen’s diary, Anza—impassioned by her father’s unjust execution and inspired b ...more
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published
August 18th 2020
by Gallery / Saga Press
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May 25, 2020
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
marked it as to-read
OK, real talk though, after a slew of some pretty miserable reads, the idea of a fantasy novel where a woman takes down the despotic piece of shit tyrant king sounds like... heaven

From the author's Twitter: one of the mc's of this book is bisexual and this is a queer-normalized fantasy world!!
-Via Lisbeth Campbell ...more
-Via Lisbeth Campbell ...more

Aug 23, 2020
Amber J
marked it as dnf
So I tried. I really did. I couldn't even make it to the 25% I wanted to before I gave up. I made it to about 18%. It just isn't catching my interest at all. I have to force myself with every page to pay attention and keep going. Honestly, I just don't want to put that much work into something I'm doing for entertainment. So I'm calling it quits on this one.
...more

Aug 18, 2020
♠ TABI⁷ ♠
marked it as to-read
Goodreads said I might want to read this if I like "young people taking down corrupt old people" and well yes that is my jam so here I am
...more

“It's not cowardice to want to live. That's why you're fighting.”
The Vanished Queen was one of those books that hooked me from the first page. I immediately fell in love with the writing style, which was very captivating, and the characters. They were all fleshed out, with their strenght and vulnerability, and I cared for them until the very last page. The story was told from 3 POVs (Anza, Esvar and Mirantha) and switched between present and past events, which were all intertwined together until ...more
The Vanished Queen was one of those books that hooked me from the first page. I immediately fell in love with the writing style, which was very captivating, and the characters. They were all fleshed out, with their strenght and vulnerability, and I cared for them until the very last page. The story was told from 3 POVs (Anza, Esvar and Mirantha) and switched between present and past events, which were all intertwined together until ...more

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/09/01/...
A devastated city. A tyrant king. Then, Queen Mirantha vanished without a trace, and even though the official explanation for her disappearance was blamed on a neighboring kingdom, everyone knows the truth is that the cruel King Karolje Disappeared her himself.
Then, a student named Anza finds the journal of Mirantha in a forbidden library. Inspired by the queen’s words and driven by the wrongful execution of her father at ...more
A devastated city. A tyrant king. Then, Queen Mirantha vanished without a trace, and even though the official explanation for her disappearance was blamed on a neighboring kingdom, everyone knows the truth is that the cruel King Karolje Disappeared her himself.
Then, a student named Anza finds the journal of Mirantha in a forbidden library. Inspired by the queen’s words and driven by the wrongful execution of her father at ...more

Fiery autumnal hillsides, twilight, and lamplight gilding the mist; but what you smell in the air is revolution.
The Vanished Queen has everything to satisfy a fantasy fan: exquisite prose, great action sequences, politics, visceral detail; Campbell has an eye for beauty, but doesn’t shy away from death, injury, and poverty.
Genre elements are used sparingly and with great taste; after all, at its core, this is a story of a mother’s love for her sons (balanced by their hatred for their own father) ...more
The Vanished Queen has everything to satisfy a fantasy fan: exquisite prose, great action sequences, politics, visceral detail; Campbell has an eye for beauty, but doesn’t shy away from death, injury, and poverty.
Genre elements are used sparingly and with great taste; after all, at its core, this is a story of a mother’s love for her sons (balanced by their hatred for their own father) ...more

"It's not cowardice to want to live. That's why you're fighting."
What a fantastic debut novel, Lisbeth Campbell writes better than many popular fantasy authors.
The political intrigue and rebellion machinations were top notch, the romance was good and didn't make characters act stupid - incredible, I know - and the characters were well written.
I didn't rate it five stars because some secrets were very easy to guess and because in some parts the rhythm was kinda flat, but I recommend reading this ...more
What a fantastic debut novel, Lisbeth Campbell writes better than many popular fantasy authors.
The political intrigue and rebellion machinations were top notch, the romance was good and didn't make characters act stupid - incredible, I know - and the characters were well written.
I didn't rate it five stars because some secrets were very easy to guess and because in some parts the rhythm was kinda flat, but I recommend reading this ...more

I received an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. When I first saw this book on Netgalley the cover initially hooked me and then I read the synopsis and was very intrigued and excited! But unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.
The beginning of this book started off strong. A tyrannical King who controls the city through fear and quickly disposes of anyone who stands against him. A young girl who is fighting for change, fighting for her city and its freedom. An ...more
The beginning of this book started off strong. A tyrannical King who controls the city through fear and quickly disposes of anyone who stands against him. A young girl who is fighting for change, fighting for her city and its freedom. An ...more

This was entertaining and engrossing in its way. The world building is excellent, but the characters left a lot to be desired for me. Megan Whalen Turner and Naomi Novik are my personal standard for political intrigue fantasy, and this didn't quite make that mark. It was good thought, and I will definitely read more from this author.
...more

I was sold on this book from the summary. I love me a story about a crumbling kingdom led by an evil and corrupt king, and the battle to depose him. I’ve been on a search for good books with strong main character and complex, entertaining political intrigue, and I have not been let down by The Vanished Queen.
I loved Anza as a character from the very beginning, I always appreciate authors that write strong, independent women that know their worth and fight for what's right. Anza was all of that ...more
I loved Anza as a character from the very beginning, I always appreciate authors that write strong, independent women that know their worth and fight for what's right. Anza was all of that ...more

Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.
But after finding the missing queen’s diary, Anza—impassioned by her father’s unjust execution and inspired by Mirantha’s words—joins the resistance group to overthrow the king. When an encounter with Prince Esvar thrusts her into a dangerous game of court politics, one misstep could lead to a fate worse than death.
Esvar is the seco ...more
But after finding the missing queen’s diary, Anza—impassioned by her father’s unjust execution and inspired by Mirantha’s words—joins the resistance group to overthrow the king. When an encounter with Prince Esvar thrusts her into a dangerous game of court politics, one misstep could lead to a fate worse than death.
Esvar is the seco ...more

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
An intricate complex novel, with a sophisticated political details. Incredibly strong fleshed out character development. The reader will have first hand knowledge of the inter-most thoughts of the characters fears and struggles.
A vicious tyrant, you will love to hate. Twist and turns that will keep you guessing.
A wonderful fantasy exper ...more
An intricate complex novel, with a sophisticated political details. Incredibly strong fleshed out character development. The reader will have first hand knowledge of the inter-most thoughts of the characters fears and struggles.
A vicious tyrant, you will love to hate. Twist and turns that will keep you guessing.
A wonderful fantasy exper ...more

One of the strengths of this novel is the character development. The author skillfully utilizes point of view, dialogue, and events in the plot to create well-developed, dynamic, and interesting characters. I love that the story is narrated from three different points of view. This gives the reader a well-rounded view of what is happening in this world. Furthermore, by including Queen Mirantha’s perspective using journals from the past shows how long King Karolje’s oppressive and murderous rule
...more

mixed feelings about this one. all it comes down to is the insufficient development of great ideas. we have the bare bones of what could've been an interesting world, characters whose backstories are more appealing than their actual depiction and voice, a plot with a great premise but lacklustre execution, and pacing that manages to somehow be both suitable and yet so wrong.
i'm being vague, but there is no way to explain this other than for the type of story this book presents itself to be--a da ...more
i'm being vague, but there is no way to explain this other than for the type of story this book presents itself to be--a da ...more

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Vanished Queen
Author: Lisbeth Campbell
Book Series: Standalone
Diversity: bisexual rep!
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: Fantasy, court intrigue, mystery
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Publisher: Saga Press
Pages: 496
Recommended Age: can't recommend dnf-ed
Synopsis: When a country is held in thrall to a vicious, despotic king, it’s up to one woman to take him down.
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Kar ...more
Book: The Vanished Queen
Author: Lisbeth Campbell
Book Series: Standalone
Diversity: bisexual rep!
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: Fantasy, court intrigue, mystery
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Publisher: Saga Press
Pages: 496
Recommended Age: can't recommend dnf-ed
Synopsis: When a country is held in thrall to a vicious, despotic king, it’s up to one woman to take him down.
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Kar ...more

The Vanished Queen follows various characters in the waning rule of an evil king. Anza joins the resistance after her father has been executed, Esvar is the second son of the king, fighting to get his brother on the throne and overcome the similarities he sees between himself and his father.
This book is beautifully written, I was engrossed almost immediately. I felt it excelled at introducing me to these characters and the world. All the characters have very visible flaws that they struggle wit ...more
This book is beautifully written, I was engrossed almost immediately. I felt it excelled at introducing me to these characters and the world. All the characters have very visible flaws that they struggle wit ...more

Lisbeth Campbell’s The Vanished Queen weaves a slow paced, intricate tale of political intrigue, revolution, and triumph in a feminist, low magic package with grimdark vibes.
Don’t let the gorgeous cover fool you: this is not a light read. The brutal regime the cast fights against demonstrates that brutality in a variety of ways, including depictions of abuse, sexual assault, torture, murder, and more. But unlike other novels in the genre, it doesn’t use the suffering of women as a convenient nar ...more
Don’t let the gorgeous cover fool you: this is not a light read. The brutal regime the cast fights against demonstrates that brutality in a variety of ways, including depictions of abuse, sexual assault, torture, murder, and more. But unlike other novels in the genre, it doesn’t use the suffering of women as a convenient nar ...more

Feb 08, 2020
Sheila Goicea
marked it as 2020-to-read-or-not-to-read
Shelves:
2020-releases,
color-me-with-this-cover
I love the cover for this book (not that it bears any weight on the story within.) However, the beginning of it's synopsis is odd?
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.
Or is it just me?
My Blog ¦ Bookstagram ¦ Twitter ¦ Pinterest ¦ Facebook ...more
Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.
Or is it just me?
My Blog ¦ Bookstagram ¦ Twitter ¦ Pinterest ¦ Facebook ...more

I read an ARC of this -- really enjoyed it. Conspiracy, action, suspense in a very well-written story whose characters are driven by personal loyalties, friendship, hope, and a burning desire for justice. (It's secondary-world fantasy, but aside from a few aspects of the world there's little magic in play, for those who are wondering about that. The resources the characters have at their disposal are by and large those inherent to everyday primary world humans.)
...more

The cover and blurb sold me on this book. I mean, look, it's just so pretty. And it probably doesn't hurt that I binged Sarah Kozloff's really solid Nine Realms series earlier this year, and this is yet another title with "Queen" written in a pretty similar font. But hey, it turns out I got suckered in the best way possible, because The Vanished Queen may well be the debut of the year.
The Vanished Queen is about a kingdom ruled by a paranoid king who turns on those closest to him, sows division, ...more
The Vanished Queen is about a kingdom ruled by a paranoid king who turns on those closest to him, sows division, ...more

3.5/5 stars for me.
A mixed bag, but overall better than average. I did not care for the romance(s) and found the sex scenes superfluous. The revelation of a certain character's true identity did not shock me; I predicted it from the get-go. It was a nice plot twist, though.
Evsar's flaws were appreciated. I do enjoy a character with anger issues (*looks guiltily at my own writing, which contains entire troops of people with anger management problems*).
Anza seemed more flat, to me. I don't know ...more
A mixed bag, but overall better than average. I did not care for the romance(s) and found the sex scenes superfluous. The revelation of a certain character's true identity did not shock me; I predicted it from the get-go. It was a nice plot twist, though.
Evsar's flaws were appreciated. I do enjoy a character with anger issues (*looks guiltily at my own writing, which contains entire troops of people with anger management problems*).
Anza seemed more flat, to me. I don't know ...more

This was a fantastic book. It pulled me in from the very beginning.
Multiple (third-person) points of view, none of which I confused for the others. Campbell described just enough of the setting as it was needed, and filled in other details later. Very well-written.
These characters were all believable, complex, and interesting. I wanted to see what would happen to them. The evil king truly seemed sadistic.
What did I love about this book? The political intrigue. At the beginning, I couldn't see h ...more
Multiple (third-person) points of view, none of which I confused for the others. Campbell described just enough of the setting as it was needed, and filled in other details later. Very well-written.
These characters were all believable, complex, and interesting. I wanted to see what would happen to them. The evil king truly seemed sadistic.
What did I love about this book? The political intrigue. At the beginning, I couldn't see h ...more

Jan 26, 2021
Andrea
added it
Thank you so much to Gallery/Saga Press in providing an ARC of Lisbeth Campbell's The Vanished Queen in exchange for an honest review via Edelweiss.
A tyrant king and he is dying. His two sons are plotting to claim the throne before one of their father’s allies claim it themselves and continue the tyranny across the kingdom. While the two brothers hatch an intricate plan, another is being boiled by a revolutionary group slowly becoming bigger and bigger.
Told in three perspectives, including the v ...more
A tyrant king and he is dying. His two sons are plotting to claim the throne before one of their father’s allies claim it themselves and continue the tyranny across the kingdom. While the two brothers hatch an intricate plan, another is being boiled by a revolutionary group slowly becoming bigger and bigger.
Told in three perspectives, including the v ...more

A tyrant king, a woman leading the resistance, a Prince and a commoner unite for the same cause. This adult fancy has everything you hope for. Murder plots, secret affairs, the fight for justice and so much more.
The story was told by three narrators. Anza, a resistance member. Prince Esvar, second son of the tyrant king. And in journal references by the now vanished Queen.
I was enthralled by Anza, the commoner turned resistance fighter, who thought of herself as irrelevant but ended up turning ...more
The story was told by three narrators. Anza, a resistance member. Prince Esvar, second son of the tyrant king. And in journal references by the now vanished Queen.
I was enthralled by Anza, the commoner turned resistance fighter, who thought of herself as irrelevant but ended up turning ...more

Oh My.. this was such an amazing book. Wow.
After a few okayish books this was like a light at the end of a tunnel. I felt empty after I finished it. Empty but not unsatisfied. In fact, I loved the ending so so much. I wanted to tell everyone I know to read this book immediately. Gosh.. I loved it.. I can't–😭
Esvar. Oh Esvar is my favorite character in this. I knew this right away after I read his first pov. He was such a complex character. He was far from the ideal fairytale prince who had an un ...more
After a few okayish books this was like a light at the end of a tunnel. I felt empty after I finished it. Empty but not unsatisfied. In fact, I loved the ending so so much. I wanted to tell everyone I know to read this book immediately. Gosh.. I loved it.. I can't–😭
Esvar. Oh Esvar is my favorite character in this. I knew this right away after I read his first pov. He was such a complex character. He was far from the ideal fairytale prince who had an un ...more

Vanished Queen is a complex, multi-layered, and slow-building political intrigue within a medieval setting. The strengths of this book surrounds the depth of the characters and the time spent establishing their motivations and fears and convictions. Unfortunately, such in-depth attention focused the characters meant that it seemed much more difficult to balance pacing. For me, the plot did not move forward at an immersive pace until about 75% of the way in.
Negatives aside, if medieval political ...more
Negatives aside, if medieval political ...more

I wish I could do 3.75 stars. I really liked parts of the book, as well as the overall story. However it was sometimes a little slow. In the end, I would recommend this book. It is in the realm of anti-fascist YA fantasy without some of the teen YA drama. (I heard the term “new adult” as the step up from YA and I think this book may qualify!)
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