The Shadow Queen Review

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

About: The Shadow Queen is a fiction novel written by C. J. Redwine. It was published on 2/23/2016 by Balzer & Bray, 405 pages. The genres are fantasy, young adult, retelling, romance, and fairy tales. This is book 1 in the Ravenspire Series: book 1 is called The Shadow Queen and book 2 is called The Wish Granter. The author has another series called Defiance which I have yet to read.

My Experience: I started reading The Shadow Queen on 1/3/17 and finished it on 1/8/17 at 1:38AM. This book is an okay read. There are actions and adventures. There are resemblances to the original fairy tales. I get bored with so much repetitions of the vow to take back the kingdom, the vow to do something, the vow to protect the brother, the vow to make a difference. The inconsistent part is, if the brother means so much to Lorelai, then why there’s no funeral for him? At the time or later on. Another thing is, all other characters both main and supporting don’t seem to be any less smart than the heroine, but somehow they all rely on Lorelai to make all decisions about what to do. Trugg was mentioned to be the top of his class, Grabril was head of the palace guard, yet, they always ask Lorelai what is the plan.

In this book, readers will follow the point of view of Lorelai and Kol. Lorelai, princess of Ravenspire, is a good character, but she vows a lot and controlling. She wants it all her way. I like Kol’s character. He’s the king of Eldr, who plays hard and works hard. He has good intentions for his family, friends, and all people. I like Gabril. He’s a very kind man. I like the cover of this book, very cool. I like the wicked queen’s apple trick. Overall, if you don’t care for YA fantasy tropes, you may still enjoy the story.

Pro: retelling, smart heroine, some humor

Con: repetitive, lack of strategic plans because all plans comes from one person and no discussion needed

I rate it 3.5 stars!

Grab yourself a copy here: Book Depository

***Disclaimer: I borrowed this ebook from my library on Overdrive and my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine