Synopsis:
A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.
Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. But in the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel. There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do her bidding and exact her revenge.
Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother, fled to the human world. There, she lives feral in the woods. Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides her time by releasing mortals from foolish bargains. She believes herself forgotten until the storm hag, Bogdana chases her through the night streets. Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once promised in marriage and who she has resented for years.
Now seventeen, Oak is charming, beautiful, and manipulative. He’s on a mission that will lead him into the north, and he wants Suren’s help. But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and a prince she cannot trust, as well as confronting all the horrors she thought she left behind.
Review:
I absolutely adore The Folk of the Air series and I was hoping this one would be the same, however, it took me so long to read that my enjoyment was definitely affected. Now, I still think this was a very good read and it could have been a five star book if it didn’t take me so long to get through. This is mostly down to me owning the physical book and not liking to read in electric light.
Throughout the whole book, I found it difficult to picture Oak as a teenager and I would sometimes forget that he’s Jude’s brother. It’s been quite some time since I read The Folk of the Air, so it took a little while to remember everything. It felt wrong to hear about Oak romancing women and basically being a bit of a rake, but it does suit his character. You never knew exactly what he was thinking and that really made things interesting.
However, I did really like this story, even if the start seemed to drag a little. I flew through the latter half of the book in just two days and my god that ending is really something. It was nothing like I expected and I love that. Keep me on my toes and I’m a very happy reader.
Back to the characters, I love Suren. So much so that I named my Baldur’s Gate 3 character after her. I found her to be very interesting in Queen of Nothing and the fact that we get to spend so much time learning about her character is great. I love a strong woman.
This is one of those reviews where I didn’t make any notes so I really don’t know what to talk about. Let’s just say I really enjoyed the book and am now desperately awaiting the second instalment.
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