C. J. Redwine

I forgot how much I loved this series!

Blue de la Cour works with her father in his alchemy shop by day, but by night she is trying to use what little magic she has to turn lead into gold. If she succeeds, she can use the money to help the orphans and street children that are all too plentiful in the city —some of whom are mysteriously disappearing.

Dinah Chauveau is drowning in debt thanks to her late husband and stands to lose everything she’s worked for if she can’t find a way to pay show more it off. So when she suspects someone in the city might be close to manufacturing passable gold, she will do anything to bring that power under her own control.

Prince Kellan is mere weeks away from his betrothal ball where he will have to make a political alliance with one of the head families. It’s a delicate tightrope to walk, making sure none of the girls or their families feel offended or snubbed, and it’s made all the more complicated by the resurgence of dangerous magic in the city, and his unexpectedly changing feelings for his annoying childhood friend, Blue.

This Cinderella story has probably my favourite utilization of the glass slippers ever! The mystery had so many layers to it, I was constantly guessing and continuously turning pages trying to figure it out, and the way it all came together at the end was brilliant! show less

It took me all but 4 hours to finish this book... I was hooked. I forgot to eat my lunch, respond to the messages popping on my phone and even cut my best friend short saying I was in the middle of an awesome book and I'd call her back after I was done with Defiance. One would expect me to give it more than measly 3 stars to this book right? Even I am surprised right now.

This book started off AMAZING! I loved Rachel! I loved Logan! (Even if their relationship reminded me a lot of Riley and show more Beck from [b:The Demon Trapper's Daughter|8704448|The Demon Trapper's Daughter (The Demon Trappers #1)|Jana Oliver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312008155s/8704448.jpg|13402207]) Rachel was kick-ass. She didn't take crap from anybody. Showed appropriate emotions at appropriate situations. Instead of adopting the common I-am-a-tough-girl-who-wants-to-save-everybody-so-I-will-do-what-I-think-is-right attitude she uses her brains and makes plans by discussing it with Logan so that they can do better together. The start of the book was really, really, really good - so good that I was sure to have a book to wave around in front of everybody saying *I have it! I have THE book that will be a new series I will agonize over and I will go totally fangirl over it for the next few weeks that everybody will wish their ears would fall off *evil laugh*"

And then everything went downhill. Somewhere along the way Rachel was replaced with Tris (from [b:Insurgent|11735983|Insurgent (Divergent, #2)|Veronica Roth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1325667729s/11735983.jpg|15524542]). Rachel's transformation from a strong character to a puddle of self-pity almost blindsided me. The plot was replaced by that of every fucking dystopia I had the misfortune of reading which had less action and more... nothing in the plot except Rachel's whining about everything. I know some major shit blew up in her face and she has every right to be angsty but really? It felt forced... especially the romance. And to think I was grinning like an idiot in every scene when Logan and Rachel were together.

Defiance is a well-written book. The alternate POVs really worked for it. But what is really depressing is that it could have been a GOD-AWESOME-GIVE-ME-MORE-LIKE-THIS! book. Instead it settled on being just well-written. Except for the U-turn in Rachel's character (and the name 'Cursed One' - seriously? You put in a black-scaled fire breathing monster and the only name you can come up with for it is the Cursed One? I don't mean to be snarky, but really... the Cursed One??) I had no real issues with the book. There are a few plotholes, but I guess they will be addressed in the sequel.

It had been everything a YA book should be. I was just expecting more from this book and it really felt like getting of the high of the awesomeness of the first few chapters with a killer headache towards the end. show less

A Rumpelstiltskin retelling that I put off for way too long considering how much I loved the first Ravenspire book! Alistair Teague is the Wish Granter, a fae exiled from his native land, happily taking advantage of desperate and greedy humans to get what he wants. When bastard prince Thaddeus is forced to wish for the throne in order to protect his sister, Arianna will stop at nothing to destroy Teague and save her brother’s soul. No dragons in this one unfortunately, but the story is show more still just as exciting and satisfying as I hoped! show less

And so breaks my streak of excellent reads for 2020.

I had a lot of fundamental problems with The Shadow Queen – from tired tropes to convenient magic to an awkward retelling in general… I just couldn’t get into this one at all.

As The Shadow Queen is a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, some of the tropes are expected and thus need to be excused. For example – a fugitive princess? You really can’t have a Snow White retelling (one that includes a Snow White character, show more anyway) without a fugitive young royal. You also have an evil step-parent, and while I personally would love to see less of these in YA fantasy, the Evil Queen is also a Snow White staple. So those two characters are excused in that way. The tropes are exhausting, but expected, so there you are.

Things that really drove me crazy? C.J. Redwine based her entire world around magic and dragons and used them only as was convenient. The rules of magic are basically just “if you need it, it’s there, and you’ll maybe sleep for half the day as a result”. But okay, I’m talking “sleep half the day” for controlling an entire river. We have Lorelai, who is a fugitive on the run, but she has as much magical knowledge as Irina who has been trained in the craft her entire life. I know nobody wants the Evil Queen to win, but it drives me absolutely crazy when the underdog heroine has just as many “magically acquired” skills as anyone else. Give me some struggle. Make me root for her. In a single sentiment… make her worthy. Nothing about Lorelai was worthy of my love as the reader. A little sympathy in regards to how badly her original coup went, but otherwise? She did not impress.

Outside of our hero and villain, I felt like we had another cast of cookie cutter characters that failed to win my heart. At the beginning, there was hope for Leo and Gabriel, but that went out the window as soon as it became clear that they, like the world building, were just a means to an end. Every character should serve his purpose in the story, but to be just an instrument to move the plot forward does not necessarily create purpose. I could write a whole blog post on this topic. Even Kol – who is easily the most significant character after Irina and Lorelai – does not make sense in his role. His whole character was a hot mess for me, honestly, and I found it frustrating that he came into the story and played the role he played considering the role he should be playing.

Basically, this is all just an epic rant about my distaste for books that don’t make sense. Even within the constructed limits of fantasy – which is broad – there are still some rules and framework, and when storytelling elements are used haphazardly to get your protagonist from Point A to Point B, those fragile worlds fall apart and the book becomes indulgence rather than storytelling. And I guess that’s a bit cruel, but that’s honestly how I felt about this book. There were so many tools at its disposal at the beginning, and all were tossed to the wind for a more convenient trail ride. I can see many ways in which the author could have took Lorelai on her journey without pulling princes from neighboring kingdoms and the such.

Listen.

The Shadow Queen can be entertaining enough if you like Snow White, and don’t mind a little simplistic fantasy. It has a beautiful cover (I’m also disappointed that the apples didn’t play a bigger role) and could work if you’re in the mood for a love story that doesn’t make sense, but does include healing kisses and cheesy one-liners. The Shadow Queen has its audience… but it’s not me. show less