#Review - Bright We Burn by Kiersten White #YALIT #Historical #Fantasy

Series: And I Darken (#3)
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Historical / Medieval

The tumultuous, edge-of-your-seat conclusion to the New York Times bestselling AND I DARKEN series—the epic saga that reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones…if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Who will live? Who will die? And who will rule triumphant?

Haunted by the sacrifices he made in Constantinople, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever…and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed…and would he even want it?

Lada’s rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won’t rest until everyone knows that her country’s borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed’s peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper. They must go to war against the girl prince.

But Mehmed knows that he loves her. He understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. Radu alone fears that they are underestimating his sister’s indomitable will. Only by destroying everything that came before—including her relationships—can Lada truly build the country she wants.

Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world.

Bright We Burn, by author Kiersten White, is the third and final installment in the authors The Conqueror's Saga trilogy. Bright We Burn delivers all the action and intensity of the first two books and is the epic conclusion fans have been waiting for. Ambitious in scope and intimate in execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate characters. 

The story is being compared to Game of Thrones due to the dark, sophisticated, and bloody nature of the series. There are castles, secrets, murders, political intrigue, war, betrayals, violent uprisings, and romance.  The story takes place in 15th Century Transylvania (historical region in the central part of Romania); Wallachia (historical and geographical region of Romania); as well as Constantinople which has been conquered by the Ottoman Empire. 

“She was a dragon.
She was a prince.
She was a woman.
It was the last that scared them most of all.” 

The story opens right where Now I Rise finished. Lada Dracul is in Wallachia where people are telling exaggerated stories about her escapades, but they're not far from the actual truth. Lada is taking out her enemies while imposing new rules which really don't get a whole lot of respect. She's now the Prince she was always hoping to be, but there are enemies surrounding her on all sides, and allies who would gladly stab her in the back in order to keep on the new Ottoman Empire's Sultan, Mehmed good side. 

Lada basically spits in the face of Mehmed and tells him and Radu to come get her by not only refusing to become a vassal state like other countries, but by going to war on his troops who have committed crimes against her people. Good idea? Bad Idea? The point is that Lada isn't a heroine. She may be considered an anti-heroine in all reality, and I'm perfectly fine with villain stories. She isn't afraid of killing and slaughtering and getting her hands bloody if it fits her narrative. She's broken. 

She's been left behind by her own brother who she promised to protect. She feints love for someone she grew up with, but it's basically just for sexual enjoyment.  She's urged to return to Mehmed where she knows she won't be in charge of her own destiny. In Wallachia, she fights for her land, her people, and forms a strange kinship with both. Wallachia’s hardened landscape isn't for everyone, as Mehmed soon learns. 

Folks, let me just say this. You all knew going into this series that the author was doing a retelling of Vlad Dracul, except by flipping the genders and making Vlad, Lada. So, if you are at all unhappy with the way this series ends, please refer back to history and you will definitely see a correlation.

Meanwhile, Radu is called back to Constantinople by Mehmed like a good little dog whenever its master calls him home. But, he's a changed man. His indecision cost people their lives and now on the other side of the fence, he no longer knows what he’s fighting for. Radu is driven now more than anytime before by love for his family made up of Nazira, Fatma, and even Cyprian. Radu is not Lada or Mehmed. Where their decisions come from a place of ruthlessness and ambition, his comes from a place of love and mercy. I think the most poignant scene in all the book was when Radu and Lada reunite and they both have to look at their lives since being sold to Mehmed's people when they were children.

I'm not going to talk about Mehmed all that much since he really is a historical character. But, he genuinely pissed me off by the way he completely disregards Lada’s ambitions, and the way he underestimated her intentions when it came to her home. He acted as though Lada is something to be conquered and possessed. His desire to kidnap & drag back Lada to where HE believes she should be, was a perfect example of someone not wanting a woman like Lada to have any sort of happiness.  

I am absolutely OK with how this story and series ends. If it had ended any other way, then it would have been considered alternative history fiction. 

1454, Wallachia

Lada Dracul had cut through blood and bones to get the castle.

That did not mean she wanted to spend time in it. It was a relief to escape the capital. She understood the need for a seat of power, but she hated that it was Tirgoviste. She could not sleep in those stone rooms, empty and yet still crowded with the ghosts of all the princes who had come before her.

With too far to go before reaching Nicolae, Lada planned to camp for the night. Solitude was increasingly precious—and yet another resource she was sorely lacking. But a tiny village tucked away from the frosted road beckoned her. During one of the last summers before she and Radu were traded to the Ottomans, they had traveled this same path with their father. It had been one of the happiest seasons of her life. Though it was winter now, nostalgia and melancholy slowed her until she decided to stay.

Outside the village, she spent a few frigid minutes changing into clothes more standard than her usual selection of black trousers and tunics. They were noteworthy enough that she risked being recognized. She put on skirts and a blouse—but with mail underneath. Always that. To the untrained eye, there was nothing to mark her as prince.

She found lodging in a stone cottage. Because there was not enough planting land for boyars to bother with here, the peasants could own small patches of it. Not enough to prosper, but enough to survive. An older woman seated Lada by the fire with bread and stew as soon as coins had exchanged hands. The woman had a daughter, a small thing wearing much-patched and too-large clothes.

They also had a cat, who, in spite of Lada’s utter indifference to the creature, insisted on rubbing against her leg and purring. The little girl sat almost as close. “Her name is Prince,” the girl said, reaching down to scratch the cat’s ears.

Lada raised an eyebrow. “That is an odd name for a female cat.”

The girl grinned, showing all the childhood gaps among her teeth. “But princes can be girls now, too.”

“Ah, yes.” Lada tried not to smile. “Tell me, what do you think of our new prince?”

“I have never seen her. But I want to! I think she must be the prettiest girl alive.”

Lada snorted at the same time as the girl’s mother. The woman sat down in a chair across from Lada. “I have heard she is nothing to look at. A blessing. Perhaps it can keep her out of a marriage.”

“Oh?” Lada stirred her stew. “You do not think she should get married?”

The woman leaned forward intently. “You came here by yourself. A woman? Traveling alone? A year ago such a thing would have been impossible. This last harvest we were able to take our crops to Tirgoviste without paying robbers’ fees every league along the road. We made two times again as much money as we ever have. And my sister no longer has to teach her boys to pretend to be stupid to avoid being taken for the sultan’s accursed Janissary troops.”

Lada nodded as though hesitant to agree. “But the prince killed all those boyars. I hear she is depraved.”

The woman huffed, waving a hand. “What did the boyars ever do for us? She had her reasons. I heard—” She leaned forward so quickly and with such animation half her stew spilled, unnoticed. “I heard she is giving land to anyone. Can you imagine? No family name, no boyar line. She gives it to those who deserve it. So I hope she never marries. I hope she lives to be a hundred years old, breathing fire and drinking the blood of our enemies.”

The little girl grabbed the cat, settling it on her lap. “Did you hear the story of the golden goblet?” she asked, eyes bright and shining.

Lada smiled. “Tell me.”

And so Lada heard new stories about herself, from her own people. They were exaggerated and stretched, but they were based on things she had actually done. The ways she had improved her country for her people.

Lada slept well that night.

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#Review - Magic Triumphs by @ilona_andrews @AceRocBooks (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Kate Daniels (#10)
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: ACE
Source: Finished Copy Via Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Urban

Mercenary Kate Daniels must risk all to protect everything she holds dear in this epic, can’t-miss entry in the thrilling #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series.

Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She’s made friends and enemies. She’s found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the power players of the world to let her be.

Kate and her father, Roland, currently have an uneasy truce, but when he starts testing her defenses again, she knows that sooner or later, a confrontation is inevitable. The Witch Oracle has begun seeing visions of blood, fire, and human bones. And when a mysterious box is delivered to Kate’s doorstep, a threat of war from the ancient enemy who nearly destroyed her family, she knows their time is up.

Kate Daniels sees no other choice but to combine forces with the unlikeliest of allies. She knows betrayal is inevitable. She knows she may not survive the coming battle. But she has to try.

For her child.

For Atlanta.

Magic Triumphs is the tenth and final installment in Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. What an absolutely brilliant way to end the series that got me started as a blogger. True fact! The series is set in alternative Atlanta where mercenary Kate Daniels-Lennart has kept the paranormal elements of Atlanta, which includes shapeshifters, vampires, witches, mages, mercenaries, and necromancers, in check along with her husband Curran. 

As the story opens, readers are introduced to the brightest, the cutest, the most dangerous baby you will ever meet; Conlan Lennart. Unfortunately, Kate's father Roland desires the baby for himself to do what he did to Hugh, and would have done to Kate had she not escaped. It is all hands on deck in order to prevent Roland from winning. If Roland takes the baby, it is the end of everything that truly matters. 

The story then moves 13 months into the future where we find Kate dealing with a new role as mother of an extraordinary child. as well as going back to work at Cutting Edge. But, something really bad happens which leads to a stunning revelation. When Kate receives a strange gift, she knows that things are quickly moving towards a major conflict with a villain who might be more powerful than Roland. The fact is, Kate's family has met this villain and wasn't the winners.

As much of a threat that Roland is on his own, this new villain is supercharged, and has an army that could easily ride through Atlanta and destroy everything and everyone Kate loves. It's nice that the authors have come up with such a dynamic villain along with his followers who we've seen before ::hint hint:: I have said this before, I shall say this again, please do yourself a huge favor and read Hugh and Elara's book. What happens in Hugh's book, happens in Kate's finale in a much, much grander way.

Even though there are some who consider Kate to be too powerful, she attempts to do the impossible. Bring all factions together in order to save Atlanta and defeat the villain. From the Pack, to the Order, to The Guild, to The People, and everyone else who stands alongside Kate in her desire to keep the newest villain from not only destroying Atlanta, but the world as well. In all honesty folks, even though I give this book FIVE huge stars, I would have loved to have one final battle between Kate and Roland, with Hugh, Elara, Conlan, Erra, Evdokia, Andrea, Teddy Jo, Raphael, Derrick, Saiman, Christopher, and Julie to name a few on Kate's side. 

I have to say, that while I am sad that this is the end, I absolutely believe it is the right time to walk away. Who knows readers, we might see Kate, Curran and the crew back for yet another visit sometime down the road. As I peer into my crystal ball, I foresee a series featuring Conlan Lennart. He is so adorable, and badass, and every single time he was in a scene I was laughing and laughing, and I couldn't help not wanting a Conlan of my own! I am happy that my wish was granted in that Hugh and Elara came to help Kate and mended some battered fences. After all, who is more of a brother than Hugh? Kind of curious where the authors will take a few others characters from here. You know that they will most likely continue with Julie and Derek sooner, rather than later. You know that Hugh and Elara have another book or two to come. Wherever they go, I will be there.

 

In the immortal words of the group known as the Doors:

This is the end, beautiful friend

 This is the end, my only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end

Of everything that stands, the end

No safety or surprise, the end

It hurts to set you free

The end of laughter and soft lies, the end.

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#Review - Wild Hunger by Chloe Neill #Paranormal #Fantasy

Series: Heirs Of Chicagoland # 1
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Release Date: August 14, 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal / Urban

In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill’s spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.

As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she’s a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he’s prince of the Pack and its future king.

When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

Story Locale: Chicago, IL

Series Overview: Vampire Elisa Sullivan and shifter Connor Keene must overcome paranormal feuds in the city of Chicago.

 

Wild Hunger is the first installment in author Chloe Neill's Heirs of Chicagoland spin-off series. For those who haven't yet read the book, let me summarize as best as I can without any spoilers. First, this story picks up 23 years after the finale of Blade Bound. Alas, there is also a novella called Slaying It that you can also read before picking up this new series, but I don't think it's actually necessary. I've read where reviewers are calling the novella a bridge between the series.

Let's next start out by not calling Elisa Sullivan mini-Merit, or mini-Ethan. Elisa, now 23, and having lived in Paris for the past 4 years, is something the world has never seen before. The first vampire born, not made. Therefore, there are some things that definitely separate her from her parents who were once humans. Readers should also know that Elisa interesting twists to her character which I'm not going to talk about. But, you have it on good authority that the author will explain how she ended up the way she is.

After 4 years in Paris, and attending the Dumas School for Supernaturals, Elisa agreed to a one year mandatory armed service escorting delegates for the Maison Dumas Vampire House. Now, things are going to get a bit wild. First, the story does start out with a bit of suspense. This comes as Elisa is preparing to return to Chicago where a major peace conference is to take place. The conference features all the major vampire houses of Europe, as well as the usual suspects, IE, Merit and Ethan's Cadogan House.

Elisa is thrust into a mystery when one of her friends, shifter Riley Sixkiller, is accused of murder. Something just doesn't add up. Does this incident have anything to do with what happened in Paris? Elisa chooses to investigate along with the new members of the Ombudsmen office, her best friend Lulu Carmichael, and Connor Keene, the heir apparent to the North American Central Park and her childhood nemesis. The investigation will bring back an old nemesis of her parents, as well as a new villain who focuses on Elisa.

Do I have to mention who Lulu's mother & father are? Do I have to mention who Connor's father is? I thought not. I liked Lulu, but I am curious as to where the author is going to take her story. She isn't like her mother, at all and that's probably a good thing. She's also really good with a certain sword thanks to her father. I liked Lulu & Elisa's friendship. It reminds me of the beginning when Merit and Mallory lived together before she became a vampire. 

Let's chat briefly about Connor and Elisa. The author actually includes a prologue of Elisa and Conner as kids so that you get an understanding of their history. Even though they are often found bickering at each other, you can clearly tell that Connor has made it his job to keep an eye out for her. Yes, he might have been a nuisance as a child, but he's the only one who knows what she is really capable of. Let's call this a slow burn romance, and not be shocked that it happens at all.

The conflict in this story is a long time coming, especially if you read the final 3 books in Merit's series. The political intrigue and players are not subtle, especially not the Fae. It is clear from the get go who the main threats are. Elisa has some real issues to deal with. Can Connor be the voice that she needs to deal with her so called prophecy? Why is it that the author had to name drop like 30 characters before moving on to the good parts of the story? Why is the real action takes place in the final 1/3 of the story? And, why does the author always wrap thing up too quickly? Things to think about while enjoying the story.  

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#Stacking the Shelves # 293 - Week ending 08/11/2018

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Thanks for Stopping by!

I sincerely hope you've had a better week than I did. I found myself standing up for myself, or standing my ground, against a vicious psychopath outside of my own home and am glad to say that I am still alive and not in the hospital or worse. I do have severe contusions on my arm and a black eye to show for the assault and battery. Police have told me that I was in the right, and the person will hopefully be caught and prosecuted.

Now onto better news. This weeks collection features a huge haul from the past two weeks. I apologize in advance, but I do hope you find something you like!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Shelley

This Weeks Reviews: 

 Monday - The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken (YA, Dystopian)

Tuesday - Sea Witch by Sarah Henning (YA, Fantasy)

Wednesday - Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance (Urban)

Thursday - The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell (YA, Fantasy)

 Friday - These Rebel Waves by Sarah Raasch (YA, Fantasy)

Weekend - The Point by John Dixon (SyFy, Military)

*REC'D Via NetGalley & Edelweiss *

 

 

Weekend #Review - The Point by John Dixon #SyFy #Military

Series: Unknown
Format: E-Galley, 320 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Publisher
Genre: Science Fiction / Military

What if you had a power you had to hide from everyone—until now? In this bold sci-fi action thriller, a secret training program at West Point is turning misfits into a new generation of heroes.
Scarlett Winter has always been an outsider, and not only because she’s a hardcore daredevil and born troublemaker—she has been hiding superhuman powers she doesn’t yet understand. Now she’s been recruited by a secret West Point unit for cadets with extraordinary abilities. Scarlett and her fellow students are learning to hone their skills, from telekinetic combat to running recon missions through strangers’ dreamscapes. 

 

At The Point, Scarlett discovers that she may be the most powerful cadet of all. With the power to control pure energy, she’s a human nuclear bomb—and she’s not sure she can control her powers much longer. Even in this army of outsiders, Scarlett feels like a misfit all over again, but when a threat arises from the school’s dark past that endangers her fellow students at The Point, duty calls and Scarlett must make a choice between being herself and becoming something even greater: a hero.

Story Locale: West Point Academy, New York, near future

John Dixon's The Point is a story that could easily be called X-Men at the US Military Academy. Instead of calling those with strange powers mutants, let's instead call them post-humans. The protagonist of the story is 18-year old Scarlett Winter a rebel by nature who chaffs against responsibility. Winter's father is a retired Master Sergeant in the Army, while her older brother is a Sergeant in the Marines.

 

After skipping out on her graduation party for a drunken reverie and some fun, Scarlet later tries to attend a party of her former best friend which doesn't go as planned. Scarlet stumbles onto the scene of 3 people planting a bomb and instead of running for her life, she jumps on the bomb which goes off. Wouldn't be a story if Scarlett died this quickly, would it? Nope. Scarlett actually takes all the kinetic energy inside of her and saves who knows how many lives.

 

None of them will ever know how close they came to dying. Why? Because Scarlett is soon visited by two men; Colonel Oscar Rhodes, and Captain Fuller who gives her an option. Either she can spends time in prison, or she can attend West Point for 4 years, with an additional 4 years of active duty. The catch is that this isn't the West Point Military Academy. This is The Point where those who are called Post Humans are trained, tested, and yes, experimented on to see what category they fall in. 

 

For Scarlett, she is something else that hasn't been seen. She is considered Level III which means that she is able to absorb an ungodly amount of energy and release it in ways that could make her a weapon. Others fall into cat I or II which could mean anything from telekinesis, to super speed, super strength, and the ability to walk into a person's dreamscapes. When a dangerous threat invades the school and almost everyone falls prey to the villains magnetism, Scarlett stands alone against a variety of hard core villains, including those from the school.

 

I have to say that Scarlett isn't a character who I am going to ever take a backward step and say, well isn't that special. She's not a dumb person. She's smart, she's good at every sport she's ever tried, but she is easily bored and ends up quitting. Except when the chips are down, and someone is planning to use her as a weapon against the school she has come to respect and admire. I think that this is a good story for other teens struggling with responsibilities and finding their way in the world. Scarlett learns a great deal about consequences from the beginning of the story, to the end. She also finds something that she hasn't before. Home where she can be who she wants to be. 

This book is apparently a standalone, however, I would love to see the author revisit as a sequel some day down the road. Dixon's other works include Phoenix Island, and Devil's Pocket. 

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#Review - These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Stream Raiders # 1
Format:E-Galley, 480 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

The thrilling new fantasy series—full of deadly magic, double crosses, and a dangerous quest in a new world—from Sara Raasch, bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes serie.

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray’s new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work.

Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island’s magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat’s abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.

Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.

As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are . . . and what they are willing to become for peace.

 

Author Sara Raasch's These Rebel Waves is an action-packed start to a new duology full of pirates, dangerous magic, double crosses, betrayal, spies, and secrets. This new series is perfect for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Heidi Heilig’s The Girl from Everywhere, and Alexandra Bracken’s Passenger. It is a story that alternates, via third POV, between three characters: Benat Gallego, Adeluna Andreu, and Devereux Bell. It is a story where secondary characters are just as important as the primary ones.

Adeluna “Lu” Andreu is the daughter of a famous revolutionary turned politician. She's whip-smart, capable, and fearsome heroine. A former spy in her country’s revolution, a master of the botanical magic, and a budding politician in her own right, she is an inspirational character with strength, agency, and passion. When an important cog in the peace treaty suddenly ends up missing, Lu and Bell team up with a group of Stream Pirates to rescue him before a new type of war hits the island of Grace Loray.  

Devereux “Vex” Bell is the most dangerous stream raider in the world but he has dark secrets and a mysterious past. He has refused to align himself with any of the Stream Raiders, and has his sights on retiring soon. Full of snarky wit, Vex is a talented rogue, the person who knows the rivers, geography, and hidden secrets of their world better than anyone else. Bell, who wears a patch over his eye, and his crew, which includes Nayeli, resident diver, and explosives expert & Edda, muscle and engine expert, have been running magical plants to various factions. Him being caught, rescued, and blackmailed by Lu is the last thing he thought would happen to him.

Benat Gallego is the son of the Elazar, King of Argrid, Eminence of the Eternal Church and the only outright gay character in this book. His father had his uncle and cousin condemned and burned as heretics and traitors. Traitors for giving money to the Grace Loray rebels like Adeluna who fought and won their freedom. He harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic which his religious order wants to rid the world of. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.

This is a curious world that Raasch has created. On one side you have the appearance that magic is really bad and believes in the religion of the pious one which encourages burning of heretics. While the other side, which pretty much includes all three of the main characters, believes that magic and magic via plants can cure the so called Sleeping Sickness which has taken so many lives. It's also curious that all of the magic that appears in this story is from an assorted plants, and Lu is perhaps the most read when it comes to the various ingredients. 

For those who thought you were going to get gay pirates, sorry. While there's one male character, and another female secondary character who are openly gay, this is really a story about politics, magic, and religion. Of all the things that could have happened, both good and bad, it had to happen in the final 1/3 of the story including the cliffhanger ending. Wow, the author went all Veronica Roth on readers. The positive is that this is a duology, and therefore readers will only have to wait until the next installment is released to see how the author handles her way through the muddle that she created.

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#Review - The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Standalone
Format: E-Galley, 304 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Clarion Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations

From a New York Times bestselling author, a fresh, female-centered take on “Robin Hood” in which a young noblewoman, like the legendary hero, becomes an outlaw fighting for social justice. Perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sarah J. Maas.

When sixteen-year-old Sylvie’s brother takes over management of their family’s vast estates, Sylvie feels powerless to stop his abuse of the local commoners. Her dearest friend asks her to run away to the woods with him, and soon a host of other villagers join them. Together, they form their own community and fight to right the wrongs perpetrated by the king and his noblemen. Perfect for fans of fairy tale retellings or anyone who loves a strong female lead, this gorgeously written take on the Robin Hood tale goes beyond the original's focus on economic justice to explore love, gender, the healing power of nature, and what it means to be a family.

 

Betsy Cornwell's The Forest Queen is supposed to be the retelling of Robin Hood with a feminist angle. It's a story about how a corrupt, too-powerful leader and his inner circle thrive at the expense of the common people and how one girl fights for what's right and makes a difference. Lady Silviana of Loughsley chooses to make a stand against her older brother, who just happens to be Sheriff John of Loughsley, after she learns that he is as much as a brute outside of the home, as he is at home.

The clutch comes when John attempts to marry Silvie off to someone who is much older than she is, and someone she once had a crush on after she "ruins" Prince Rioch's first hunting day. I could tell you that this is a story about a young woman who goes from a spoiled noble, to learning how to take care of herself, to learning how to accept who she's become in order to help others who have been unfairly treated, and unfairly taxed, and unfairly sent to prison because the King, Prince, and Sheriff like living the lap of luxury.

The author spends too much time with Silvie and her boyfriend Robert "Bird" Falconer, son of the huntswoman, running away into the woods and talking about the good ole days where they were free to climb trees and act like kids, and not have adult expectations shoved at them. Yes, there are moments of disagreement. Then they discover Little Jane who appears to have chosen to kill herself while being pregnant. Next comes Mae Tuck, who is a supposed to be a traveling midwife.

As you can tell, the story drags along for while as Silvie, Jane, Mae, and Bird gather those who have been treated like dogs by the Sheriff, the Prince, and the King. To make matters worse, Sheriff John suddenly becomes a pervert, and perhaps a serial rapist as well, who may have also abused his own sister.  Wow. Not the Robin Hood I remember. Nor any of the retelling's since. While the idea behind the story was a good one, I am not so sure if this is what anyone would have expected from the writer.

Personally, I expected more of the Robin Hood, and not a Maid Marian type character. Silvie is apparently good with a bow as we see in the Prologue, but I'm not sure that's good enough to carry the story. There have, and will be other books retelling Robin Hood with a gender twists in the future. I dare say that I hope they don't follow this authors huge letdown. I would suggest that if you go in looking for sweeping tales of heroism and stunning fight scenes, you may be disappointed.

Prologue

High in the trees of Woodshire Forest on a sunny day, the light doesn’t seem to come from above you at all. Light springs out of the leaves there, a round robin of tree and sky: it streams off every twig, drips into the edges of each ebbing shadow until the whole canopy floods with gold, until the air itself smells like light, bittersweet and fresh. You can drown in green sunshine up there.
Bird and I used to swim in it every day. We’d climb the trees right up to the very top, or at least, as close as we could get. As we grew older, the young branches on the treetops started snapping under our weight. By the time we were ten we couldn’t quite get above the canopy anymore.
I was bigger than Bird then, and I always told him he should still go up without me. But he never did.
“Why climb a tree at all if you won’t go as high as you can?” I asked him the first few times. He just grinned at me.
Eventually I stopped asking. In truth, I’d have missed him if he’d climbed higher than I could follow; he was always my favorite company, and I his. Like trees and sunshine, Bird and me, although I couldn’t tell you who was which.
I think that’s what bothered John first—?long before he took over the estate, before he became sheriff or tried to marry me off or anything else that happened. Just that I preferred Bird to him.
John never climbed the trees with us. But sometimes he would wait on the ground as we climbed, and I could feel his gaze on the backs of my legs, watching.
AUTUMN
ONE
Chasing the Hart
The huntswoman sounded her horn, and hounds rushed like water around our horses’ feet.
I leaned forward over my mare’s neck and let out a steady breath as we jumped the stream. She landed lightly, our speed barely breaking, and we plunged ahead with the rest of the party.
I heard a falcon’s cry and looked back just in time to see the great raptor spread her wings and push off from Bird’s leather-gloved hand. Seraph flashed into the green ocean above us and my friend grinned, tucking the falcon’s hood into his sleeve.
I felt the huge muscles under me tighten and I looked ahead to see the fallen tree my horse was about to jump. This time I wasn’t ready, and I had my breath knocked from me on her landing as punishment. One of her ears flicked back in reassurance or annoyance, and I felt a reminding tug on the reins I always kept as loose as I could. Pay attention, she was saying. You’re not sitting in any rocking chair, here.
Bowstrings sliced across my chest as I leaned forward again. I pressed my legs more firmly against the mare’s side and slid my hands into her mane. She felt my focus and began to run flat out.
Soon all I could see were flashing, flickering streaks of green and orange, the forest colors around us flaming toward autumn. The day was crisp, September-cool, but inside my wool riding habit I was beginning to sweat.
Scenthounds bayed just ahead of us. The riders gave out joyful whoops and warrior cries. Close behind me on his red-roan gelding, Bird was silent, but I could feel him, focused and determined, listening for the falcon that rode the wind above us, far beyond the shifting, murmuring canopy.
Then, with a shock like plunging into cold water, we left the forest shadows and entered a sunny clearing, an expanse of tall grass and daisies with a sheer cliff on the other side. There, trapped against the rockface, stood the hart we chased.
His antlers betrayed his age: no young buck he, but a great elder king of the forest, his horns twisting into a crown that nearly doubled his considerable height. He stomped and thrust those antlers bravely forward, menacing us, but he knew well that he was trapped.
He’d have to be old to be caught, I knew. Young and healthy quarry, whether hart or hare, fox or boar, almost always outran the hounds. I’d been on countless hunts, and only a handful of times had our day of riding and jumping and following the graceful calls of hound and horn yielded any actual meat for the Loughsley table.
But this day, it would. I sent up a heartfelt prayer for this animal’s quick, clean death, now that at last we had it cornered.
“Hold!”
The hounds hung back, corralled in an instant by the huntswoman’s calls. In the wild, the pack would have overwhelmed this beast in an instant, but a formal hunt is different.
I tugged my mare’s reins, even though she was already coming to a stop. Shifting the balance of my waist and hips in the sidesaddle, I straightened my spine as I pulled the bow from my back.
Prince Rioch moved for his crossbow. As the highest-ranking hunter, the prince had the honor of the first shot, but all of us would be ready to dispatch the animal quickly if his aim faltered. Any good hunter spares their prey needless pain.
He raised his arms and squared his shoulders, settling the heft of the crossbow in his hands. He squinted through the precisely carved notch at its center.
Beside him my brother, John, watched and nodded his encouragement. This was our young royal’s first time hunting without the king: he’d never had first shot before.
The prince’s arrow flew across the clearing.
I felt a familiar shadow pass over me, and without looking up I knew that Bird’s falcon circled us, and that she watched the arrow, too.
It pierced the hart’s hind leg.
He gave a guttural, frothy scream that turned into a panicked groan as he tried to run and found that he could not.
Hobbled, the great stag began a struggling limp toward the forest.
I raised my bow, taking in the long breath that would allow me, on the exhale, to shoot clean and true. Around me two dozen hunters did the same. All of us watched the huntswoman from the corners of our eyes; she would give the signal that would let us end the beast’s suffering, and she would not wait long to do it.
The huntswoman raised her horn.
“Wait!” John called.
I stared at my brother in horror.
“It is the prince’s first quarry,” he said. “Let him try again.”
I looked back at the huntswoman. I was certain she wouldn’t let this stand; she was a clean and rigorous hunter, and I knew the worth she saw in each life her hunting parties took. She was Bird’s mother, for goodness’ sake!
But she moved the curved horn away from her tight-set lips and nodded.
Behind me I heard Bird’s strangled breath. Both he and the huntswoman were servants of Loughsley, and they could not contradict its young master; and even though I was its lady, as the younger sibling, I had no more authority to speak over my brother than they did. Besides, our visiting monarch had just named John sheriff; John had even more power now.
The prince took out another arrow. He fumbled at his crossbow with unpracticed hands.
After a long minute, John took the bow and reloaded for him. He handed the crossbow back to our prince with a dutiful nod.
“Thank you, Loughsley,” Rioch muttered, his color rising.
Don’t bother with thanks, I thought. Just kill the poor thing.
The prince’s second shot hit the stag in the neck. Too high to break his windpipe or open an artery, too low to pierce the spine and cease his pain.
The sound he made this time wasn’t panicked or even loud. It was mewling. Low. He leaned to one side, giving slow, panting, bubbling breaths. His tongue began to loll even while his eyes stayed open.
His punctured leg buckled, and with a faint snap, he fell.
Still the huntswoman watched my brother.
“Once more, Your Highness,” John said.
The prince’s face was red. “I’ll reload myself,” he muttered.
In time ticked out by the wheezing clock of the hart’s wounded breaths, he did so.
A lean, brindled sighthound at the front of our party whined at the scent of blood. I heard the soft clashing of feathers behind me: the falcon came to rest on Bird’s arm again. The twenty or so humans all stayed as still as the animals, our hands cautious on bows, or tight on bridles or saddle horns.
None of them would speak against my brother, let alone the prince.
And the beast at the edge of the cliff lay trapped. Killed already, or as good as, but not yet dead, the animal panic in him not enough to numb his pain or mend his bones or carry him to safety.
I raised my bow again and shot him through the heart.

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