Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

May 19, 2010 Alisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, urban-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I guess I'll start this review by mentioning what I felt upon finishing this book: despair and pity. Despair for the seemingly unending chasm of time until the next book in the series is released; pity for the next book I was to read after this one, as I was most certainly going to punish it for not being this book. :o)

So. As for the book itself. This second installment in the Dark Swan series revisits Eugenie Markham a few months after the conclusion of Storm Born. Though still the Queen of Tho ...more

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Dec 24, 2009 Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-stars, not-manga, female-lead, title-t, reviewed, twice-read, 2010, 2011, fae, why-do-i-do-this-to-myself

Sad to say; I was a little disappointed with this series as a whole. I think I would have been much happier with an absence of the love triangle.

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While the entire magical system for the world Mead created in this series seems like a lot was taken away by following a connect the dot type of plot line. I would like it more if current writers would take note, and try to avoid inserting love triangles. It's getting old.

Cheers Pretties! ...more

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Jan 09, 2010 Literary Ames rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, dtb, series-abandoned, favourites, urban-fantasy, magic-users, read-in-2010, hunters-warriors-assassins

Ok so I couldn't wait for the actual book to arrive so I downloaded the ebook. It was totally worth it.

Whereas Storm Born was about Eugenie discovering her heritage and inheriting two titles (one by birth and one by accident), three months later Thorn Queen sees her realising that no matter how much she doesn't want to be a gentry queen she is one and she needs to take responsibility for the land and it's people, half assed as she does it in this. When she sees that the people are starving beca Ok so I couldn't wait for the actual book to arrive so I downloaded the ebook. It was totally worth it.

Whereas Storm Born was about Eugenie discovering her heritage and inheriting two titles (one by birth and one by accident), three months later Thorn Queen sees her realising that no matter how much she doesn't want to be a gentry queen she is one and she needs to take responsibility for the land and it's people, half assed as she does it in this. When she sees that the people are starving because of the way the land has conformed to her vision of what she calls "home", the desert of Tuscan, she decides she needs to help them discover water and find ways of growing food but she doesn't want to get too involved because she still sees herself as human and not as a queen. Doing this is an odd experience for her as she's approached by the people with fear and awe due to her parentage and the way in which she killed her predecessor, who did not care a jot about the affairs of those beneath him.

Eugenie's world may be quite narrow in terms of the number of characters and their backgrounds but with characters that there are, are varied - though I would like more personal history on each of them, this is my only criticism.

In this, Kiyo's relationship with Maiwen strains his relationship with Eugenie as does his naivity that she can just ignore the people she's supposed to be ruling, the hard decisions that need to be made as a ruler and her raw unpredictable power. I predicted that he was dangerous for Eugenie but Thorn Queen really demonstrated the numerous reasons why he wasn't just a selfish idealist but an idiot as well.

Dorian is on the opposite end of the scale. He's a fellow ruler so he understands politics, the need to care for your people and the necessity for Eugenie to be trained in her magic so as not to become a danger to herself or others. He also understood that after her traumatic experience she would need space and time to recover. Despite his agenda, he truly cares for Eugenie and was willing to start a war to protect her honour and carries out vengeance on her behalf, whereas Kiyo just stood by and judged Eugenie for using her magic against someone who'd violated her, he never even considered killing the b*stard himself. As Eugenie states:

Kiyo had failed me. Dorian would not.

I applaud Richelle Mead for the way she protrays relationships between her characters, they are completely believable. I think Iron Crowned will see Eugenie fully embrace her new responsibilites as Thorn Queen and as Storm Queen as she prepares to go to war with the faithful Dorian at her side. ...more

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Sep 30, 2009 Heidi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2009, kindle, series, favorites, paranormal, urban-fantasy, owned, lendable

I'm loving this series.. the first book was really good and this one was fantastic. I actually pulled an all nighter to finish it! I love Eugenie and the multiple world settings. Also.. ahem.. DORIAN. This book had some seriously hot scenes but was still very plot-driven rather than merely romance-driven, which I like. Loved the ending, can't wait for the next book! ...more

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