The Traitor Queen

THE TRAITOR QUEEN by Danielle L. Jensen picks up months after the shocking ending of THE BRIDGE KINGDOM. While some authors struggle with sequels, THE TRAITOR QUEEN proves that this is not Ms. Jensen’s weakness. In fact, I enjoyed the second novel more than the first book.

For one, there is more nuance to THE TRAITOR QUEEN. It isn’t just the fact that Lara has to prove herself to be something other than a traitor to Aren and his people. It is Aren’s conflicting emotions, something Ms. Jensen showcases with skill. It is the hatred and distrust spilling from every person Lara meets. Lara’s guilt, Aren’s anger and self-disgust - all of it feels accurate and very real. These are not two teenagers with overwrought emotional show more turmoil. These are two people in love who have hurt each other in terrible ways, ways that impact an entire country.

At the same time, even while Lara continues to impress with her martial skills, her wealth of knowledge becomes even more important in this novel. That combined with her determination to atone makes her even more formidable than we knew because it shows how far she has come in reclaiming her ability to empathize that was missing when we first met her.

Once again, Ms. Jensen kept me on the edge of my seat and prevented me from guessing any aspect of the plot. There were times I even doubted whether Aren and Lara would make it as a couple because she was that good at showing the divide between them from Lara’s failure to tell the entire truth. THE TRAITOR QUEEN provides a satisfying conclusion to Lara and Aren’s story while setting readers up for the next part of the Bridge Kingdom’s battle for independence. I’m excited to see what happens next! show less

The Traitor Queen – Danielle L. Jensen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 🦈🐍

✨ What I loved:
• So many gut punching twists and impossible decisions that kept me glued to the pages
• The betrayal was brutal and the forgiveness took the right amount of time to truly earn
• Real love mixed with real hurt that made the emotions hit even harder
• Loved getting to meet Lara’s sisters, what a total badass crew
• Even more political intrigue as alliances were built and tested
• The war was intense, heartbreaking, and impossible to look away from
• Snake Island 🐍 and sharks 🦈, enough said
• I adored both Aren and Lara’s POVs just as much as I did in book one

This sequel had everything I loved about the first book but with even higher show more stakes, bigger heartbreaks, and more moments that left me holding my breath. show less

I’m conflicted. The slow burn tension? Excellent. The rest? Felt like I accidentally enlisted in a war. So much strategy, treaties, and political maneuvering — I kept waiting for someone to just talk about their feelings instead of deploying troops. Strong writing, but I connected most when it focused on the emotional core.

This is such a good follow-up to the first book. I found it completely interesting that this isn't a typical romance or even a typical enemies to lovers either. It's quite the daunting task of redemption when an entire Kingdom has suffered the consequences of your mistakes. I think the author is able to maintain the relationship between these two main characters despite the limited spice between the series. I am curious about the rest of the series as my understanding is it moves on to other characters.

This was a great sequel. Danielle L. Jensen wrote a book full of action while expanding the worldbuilding.
In this book we get to meet Lara’s sisters and really know how strong they are. Lara struggles to forgive herself and redeem from her past mistakes.

This story is a lot less predictable, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. My main complaint is that I wished to see more of Lara and Aren happy together. Through the dual point of view, we can see all their passion and angst, which turned their love more credible than in the first instalment.
The end of the book came a little abruptly and I wish we could see more of them working on their relationship and on the recovery of their kingdom.

This is book 2 in the series and it is essential to read book 1 first as I would class this a duet.
The next book moves on to another couple but we will no doubt see this couples HEA through their story.
There is a HFN in the sense that the enemy threat of this book is resolved by the end of this book but there is more political progress to be made through the series for there to be peace.

This book continues with Aren captured and the city lost and the heroine in a different destination.
Dual POV.
During separation both are celibate.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.

For me the redemption of the heroine didn't work.
She does lots of things to deal with her father and rescue Aren but I couldn't see how he would happily be able show more to live with her as they were before, her as his Queen.
If she'd written the letter earlier on I think it might have worked but she sent it even after having doubts and at the cost of so much life I just couldn't see a way back to her former position. Even though she tried to stop it being sent.
The author has a clever twist to make it acceptable to the people for her to be his Queen but for me I couldn't see her ever being able to make up for the betrayal.

Lots of secondary characters introduced, including some of her sisters, so we learn what happened after she left in book 1.
HFN.

I realize my opinion may be unpopular but for me, it was just a bridge too far. Excuse the pun!! show less

An excellent sequel to the first book. The characters truly face the consequences of their actions and work through their emotions without sacrificing plot or pacing. Love Lara. Love Aren.