Dark Queen

"Dark Queen" is the book Jane Yellowrock fans have been waiting for. It's the one where we finally see the long-promised conflict between the European vampires and the Leo's New Orleans vampires. It's the one that will shape Jane's world.

If you haven't read the other Yellowrock books, don't start here, Go back to "Skinwalker" and see Jane arrive in New Orleans on Bitsa, her restored Harley, with nothing but the clothes on her back, the weapons in her saddlebags and a business card saying "Have Stakes. Will Travel".

We've all come a long way since then and "Dark Queen" uses all of the complex history carved out in the previous eleven books to enhance the impact of the big finale.

This book is more than just a "Who's gonna win the big vamp show more fight?". It's a book in which Jane takes stock of what she has that makes her life worth living: a self-made family, firm friends, strong allies and whether she can ever step off the bloody path she's carved to become who she now is; Vamp Enforcer, Dark Queen, feared killer.

From the start "Dark Queen" has the feel of the end of a series or a complete reboot of the situation.

Personally, I welcomed this. It was time to draw things together. To make an end and perhaps a beginning.

For a while, in the second half of this series, Jane became someone I didn't like much. She'd gone from Vamp killer to chief protector of the vamps. She'd started to lose her humanity and her sense of who she was. This turned around in the eleventh book, the excellent "Cold Reign", where Jane no longer concealed her Skinwalker nature and where the arrival of the "take over the US and enslave the human cattle" European vampires gave Jane a cause worth fighting for. "Dark Queen" follows through on this and gives a quite satisfying resolution.

The strength of this book comes from the depth of the relationships as much as it does from the blood-soaked, up-close and personal fight scenes. It's the relationships that make the outcomes of the fights matter, especially when someone we care about dies.

I felt it suffered a little from a series of guest appearances, typical of a series finale, necessary perhaps but still detracting from the pace. There was a whole sequence with the wereleopards that, while it tied up a loose end, didn't add much to the plot.

BUT

Faith Hunter delivered a finale with real impact, pulling no punches and keeping me guessing. She gave Beast (my favourite character) a starring role and she turned Jane back into someone who was not human but had regained her soul.

I won't go into the plot. If you're a fan you'll read this book anyway.

I'll just take the opportunity to say thank you to Faith Hunter for giving me Jane Yellowrock, the people she loves, the people she hates and the complex world they all live in. show less

Well...that was awesome

I don’t know if every loose thread has been tied off, but that was a great sequence of battles.

There were a few moments early on that felt like errors in continuity. Mainly dealing with Kemnebi. I was not happy with his role. Not his actions, per say, but the logical consistency around them.

I hate to say this, but I don’t want another Jane Yellowrock novel. Her role and life has so profoundly changed as to be unrecognizable. The Dark Queen can’t be easily challenged.

Worth full price.

“We don’t poison. We shoot, stab, cut, slice and dice, eviscerate, disembowel, and decapitate. Sometimes shoot and blow up our enemies. We’ve been known to bury our dead in the swamp. But we don’t poison. Poison is wussy.”

Some series get weaker as they continue past a certain high numbers, but some stay strong. Jane Yellowrock continues to shine with keeping some of the same aspects that made fans fall in love with it in the first place, but there are enough changes to keep it interesting.

The setting up of the clans was especially fascinating. So much in this book went into the development of the showdown fight that it was hard to attach to as many characters. I'm a bit over Jane still reliving her past but there is a new show more twist about that. I don't buy into the whole European embrace thing and hope the author doesn't change Jane too much to where I don't recognize her with future changes.

In this one Leo is making a stand and some major changes, including finally getting along better with Jane for the most part (when can he be trusted fully? Perhaps never). The big battle that’s been building for awhile is finally here, and the losses will be sad.

The cliffhanger I was fearing from reviews wasn't as brutal as I thought...it's more of a geez hope all will be okay, not a sudden fall off a cliff to a gruesome death kind of ending. I will say though that if a certain someone really is dead then the series will have lost a lot of it's soul. There is a sad loss as well in this one show less

Agggggghhhhhhh

I don't know whether to curse Faith Hunter's name or to bless her. Jane is an amazing character. The worldbuilding is tip top and the story sucked me in. I need there to be so, so, so many more in this series.

Faith has managed to produced yet another tear-jerking, belly-laughing work of art!

The EVs are here, and the Sangre Duello is being prepared for to determine the future of not only NOLAs paranormals, but the US and Europe. Jane must once again face seemingly insurmountable odds to try and protect those she has come to care for. A many-layered, many-faceted plan has been put into place safety for all those left behind regardless of the outcome of the blood duel.

This is a story of family - with all it hardships and benefits. It is a story of love, of death, of rebirth. Like life, it has it's slow moments, it's fast moments, it's heartbreaking moments, and it's joyful moments. If you are unable to read emotionally draining books then this show more is not the book for you, but if you can... it is SO worth it!

I know I have said it before - and will probably say so again - but, Faith's writing is so descriptive and so full of life that it is easy and fun to read while creating a highly imaginative and colorful world. There were a couple of passages that made me laugh while at work - the ones with BQ and/or Deon - which of course made my co-workers curious. I had to share the Elton John passage with my self-dubbed gay work husband because it was just too perfect, and I knew he would enjoy it as much as I did. I got the book back with the comment, "Oh My God! I love how she writes! It is just SO descriptive!"

I made the colossal mistake of finishing this book while on a small plane on the first leg of my vacation flight... with only 1 tissue. So be warned - if you cry reading books - do NOT finish this book in public unless you have a ready supply of tissues!

**I received complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher in order to provide this review.** show less

Well...that was awesome

I don’t know if every loose thread has been tied off, but that was a great sequence of battles.

There were a few moments early on that felt like errors in continuity. Mainly dealing with Kemnebi. I was not happy with his role. Not his actions, per say, but the logical consistency around them.

I hate to say this, but I don’t want another Jane Yellowrock novel. Her role and life has so profoundly changed as to be unrecognizable. The Dark Queen can’t be easily challenged.

Worth full price.

I loved Faith Hunter’s DARK QUEEN, the twelfth book in the Jane Yellowrock series. Leo, the vampire Master of the City of New Orleans, is preparing for his blood challenge by the emperor on the European vampires. Since Jane is Leo’s Enforcer, she has a lot to prepare for. To top it off, she has some family drama to deal with.

I enjoyed the characters. They are diverse and have a lot of depth. I find Jane’s conversations with Beast amusing. I really appreciated the flashbacks to Jane’s youth. I love that she began remembering things from her life past. I enjoyed the addition of Ayatas FireWind.

DARK QUEEN was skillfully written and exciting throughout the novel. There were twists and a lot of action in the story. The “blood show more battle” was a fascinating event. The rules and dynamics between the combatants were well developed and exciting. Leo did some surprising things throughout the story. I loved the epilogue. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. show less