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
I love the cover of this one too, but have been skeptical about reading it! I’ve seen mixed reviews, but I’ll give it a shot just in case! Happy reading! 😀
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Definitely. Better to have your own opinions of the book. All books are not for everyone. I find myself liking some books that others don’t like 🙂
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Same here! 😀
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I remember seeing this around a lot a while back but never being interested in it. I’m glad I passed on it because it sounds like something I wouldn’t enjoy. Either way, great review and I hope you enjoy your next read more! 💕😊
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Thanks Melissa. There are better books to read than this one.. I fall for the cover that’s why I read.. hahaha..
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You’re welcome!!
I do that a lot too so I get what you mean. Cover reads can be a hit or a miss. 🙈
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Great review! 😀
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Thanks! Have you read this book?
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Nope, but I will soon. 🙂
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Hope you will enjoy more than I did 😊
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Thanks! 🙂
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That’s too bad! I was really excited for this one.
But I’ll give it a try still, since I own it, lol! All about my Beat The Backlist challenge: gotta read the books I own finally! (Doesn’t mean I’ll stop reading ARCs, but I do need to read some of the books I own!)
Thorough review! 😊
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I should plan to read books I own too haha but I also want to read more library books this year. Sammi loved this book so maybe you’ll love it too.
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Oh yes def want to Res the library books I have checked out…this year’s challenge is about reading books that have been released and that you own or have been out. So hoping it will help crush my TBR!
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I haven’t read this one yet but it’s on my tbr. But it doesn’t look like it will keep me interested though
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This book has mixed reviews. I normally love retellings but this one somehow just doesn’t stands out for me. You should still read it though. You may like it 😊
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This is one of those books that I’ve always seen but never really bothered to put on my TBR, and after weighing all the pros and cons you’ve mentioned, I think I’ll pass this one up. Great review, as always, Jasmine!
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I fall for the cover though hehe but yeah this book was not very exciting. It just doesn’t stands out for me. There are other better retellings to read 😊
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Too bad you didn’t care much for this one, Jasmine! I know how hard it is to stay interested when a book literally makes us sleepy…
Still, I might give this one a try, at least to see if I like it. Great review, of course 🙂
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Yes, you should still read it. Better to know for yourself how the book is than not know at all. 😊
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I felt the same about this book. I was so excited to read another retelling but it is repetitive. But it was a nice quick read at the same time.
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Yeah but I was looking for an amazing read and unlike any other.. so reading something that is repetitive is a bit dull..
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