Jenna Black

A society in which women have no power and no rights is not so far in our past that the idea of such an environment still strikes fear into our hearts. After all, we are still fighting for birth control and abortion rights, and the #metoo movement shined a spotlight on the frequency of sexual assault and a society that blames victims more than it helps them. Now imagine what would happen if women had the ability to change such a society through one magic spell. How would men react? Jenna show more Glass explores this idea in The Women’s War.

While Crown of Feathers is much like the mythical beast on its cover – fiery and mesmerizing – The Women’s War is a much subtler story of female empowerment. In this world, women never had power, so they have no history to compel them to act. In truth, most women, and almost all men do not understand the ramifications of the spell until much later in the story, and it is the dawning awakening of the women and increasing indignation of the men which propels the story. The women in this story may not be fighters, but they manage to grasp the politics of the situation and maneuver themselves into positions of power – all while fighting male disdain, anger, and violence. Jenna Glass does not draw upon a primal instinct but rather uses everyday experiences to capture the impotence women feel when men argue away their rights, treat them as objects, and ignore their ideas. The end provides a completely different sense of satisfaction – quiet, less obvious, but there nonetheless. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed The Women's War by Jenna Glass, but the same cannot be said about its sequel, Queen of the Unwanted. In fact, I did not enjoy the reading of the sequel so much that I did contemplate marking it as a DNF. The only reason I did not do so was the fact that I wanted to give the author a chance to redeem herself and the story. Plus, I skimmed the last seventy-five percent of the novel to minimize the pain. When all else fails, skimming is your friend.

Unlike that first novel, show more there is so much to dislike in Queen of the Unwanted. First off, Ms. Glass provides no recap or reminder of what happened in the first book. There is nothing to refresh your memory on the numerous characters, the complex politics, and the magic that exists. You have to use context clues for most of it, but clues for how the magic works are few. While I appreciate the fact that the author tried to eliminate what can be a tedious part of any sequel, with the number of characters that narrate and the relative complexity of the world and its magic, to do nothing is a frustrating experience.

Secondly, there is no action throughout the entirety of its 592 pages. The story is literally one political maneuver after another. There is more worry about trade agreements and alliances than anything else in the novel. If I wanted a story about economics and government negotiations, there are plenty of other books that exist that tackle that topic. I do not expect a feminist saga about magic and power to include such mundane topics for so long.

Thirdly, there is absolutely no character development among any of its numerous characters. When I say numerous, I mean it too. If I remember correctly, there are at least seven different narrators around whom the story revolves. Yet, none of them show growth or maturity. All of them are jockeying for power in some fashion, but no one seems to be learning anything.

Lastly, as the narrators are solely in the upper echelons of their respective cultures, we never see how their decisions impact their citizens. We get hints that some of their policy decisions are not popular or have devastating effects for the lower classes, but we only see this world through its leaders. I am not a fan.

While the first novel was a fantastic example of feminist literature, there again is another area in which Queen of the Unwanted leaves me wanting. The only truly feminist idea in the novel is that it shows that women can lead a country as well as, or better, than men. Unfortunately, we don't really see these female leaders do much of anything except negotiating political marriages for themselves or for others. Plus, we see the two other female leaders fight amongst themselves for power, showing the very same dangerous female relationships that any working woman will understand. The use of marriage as a political gambit does not feel very feminist to me, and no one wants to see yet another example of toxic female coworker relationships. So, the very thing which made The Women's War so impressive is practically nonexistent in the sequel.

Sequels tend to get a bad reputation for not being as strong or good as its predecessor, but rarely have I come across a sequel that is almost its predecessor's opposite, as is the case with Queen of the Unwanted. I remain shocked that a sequel could turn its back on everything which made the original story so good. The lack of action, the absence of character development, the missing recaps to tie the two stories together - they call combine to create a reading experience best avoided. After all, there are plenty of good books out there more worthy of your attention. show less

I received a galley of this book from NetGalley.

Glass's feminist fantasy series started off with The Women's War, establishing an epic fantasy world where women are chattel who are not allowed to practice magic, and if their dominant men are displeased with them in any way, women and girls can be cast off to abbeys--essentially, government-run bordellos. Within the book, an incredible, multi-generational magic effort is made to correct this gender imbalance. The repercussions of this rattle show more the entire world, literally and figuratively.

Queen of the Unwanted carries on soon after that catastrophic event (for men), following different characters around the world as they grieve, love, and scheme amid the changing order. This epic fantasy setting feels fresh, and there is absolutely nothing predictable about the plot. Usually I can guess how things will end--nope! Glass excels at deft turns of plots, and her characters are incredible. In particular, there is a vital character who is a true antagonist, seeking to undo the mighty spell that gives women more power--and I hated her and deeply sympathized with her all at once. That's good writing. show less

I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley.

The description defined this a "high fantasy feminist epic," and that is dead-on. This is a secondary world setting where women are marginalized, abused, and maligned, and they finally start to fight back. That also means this is a difficult read at times, as it doesn't shy away from incidents of rape and abuse. That said, this IS a book from a mostly feminist perspective, and it doesn't let those horrors become the defining moment for show more those characters.

The book follows a largely female cast in various parts of "the Wells." This is a world where people can focus on their Mind's Eye and see elemental orbs that can then be combined to different magical effects. I found this very easy to picture because it seemed video game-like to me, and I loved that. Women, of course, are almost entirely forbidden from tapping this power. The very sight of a women using magic, her eyes going to all-white, is regarded as obscene. The only place where women are permitted to use limited magic is if they are exiled to abbeys--rather like government-run bordellos, where unclean women are forced to give out sexual favors or otherwise peddle wares in lowly ways.

A matrimonial line decided, in ages past, to break the very way magic functions in the world in order to give women a way to fight back. They essentially bred themselves to cultivate this ability. They carry this out near the beginning of the book, to immediate physical and magical results. I am keeping the particulars vague to avoid spoilers, but I will say this: the consequences are myriad and truly make you think about women and the power they carry over their own bodies. I enjoyed seeing this analyzed through the lens of magic.

A few criticisms. I was surprised that there wasn't more queer representation, especially within the confines of abbeys. I also wish the villain had more nuance, because yeesh, is he a nasty villain. He's almost too easy to hate. I felt like bathing in bleach after scenes in his perspective.

This is the first book in a series and it ends on something of a cliffhanger. The one peril of getting an early reviewer edition of the book is that I have an even longer wait until I find out what happens next! show less