The Exiled Queen

where do i even start with this one … the new setting does WONDERS for these characters, and the expansion of Han’s motivations and fears in this one is amazing. he becomes so much more nuanced as he tries and tries to change, trying to adjust to the new life he’s been given (well, FORCED is more the word). he’s on multiple conflicting payrolls, constantly moving three or four steps ahead of everyone else. there is something so satisfying about his triumphs in this book: micah bayar gets cowed into submission multiple times, han meets raisa again (fucking finally.. but more on that later), and he’s finally being seen as a real and potential threat to his enemies.

i have to talk about how god damn annoying the travel is. WOW show more does it take them forever to get places in this world. it makes it more realistic, and that’s one thing about these books that is so so impressive: chima has PATIENCE. she sets up her events and plot points with the ultimate finesse, truly building suspense and anticipation for CHAPTERS. it’s actually annoying sometimes how she doesn’t give you what you want: she makes you wait for it, which is all the more satisfying. good things and bad things, i suppose.

i absolutely hate the bayar twins in this one. they’re perhaps a little lopsided as characters, because they’re stuck up and nasty and i’ve never once felt a good feeling about either of them. fiona digging han is also super weird.

amon’s plot line makes sense and is acceptable, if a little boring. he’s the ever honorable sidekick, refusing to give in to raisa even when he wants to most.

raisa comes SO far in this one. seeing her fight tooth and nail to reject her privilege and experience the realities of the world is extremely satisfying. and all the more satisfying is her reunion with han, my favorite man in the seven realms. they foil each other so well, it genuinely feels like fate - and not to mention it feels like a crossover episode.

as a second novel in the series, this performs beautifully. it asks you all the right questions: who knows what? who the fuck is crow? what is raisa going to do next? i really wish we had gotten a scene at the cadet’s ball, not even going to lie to you, but the college-town experience of this book makes a big world feel smaller and more accessible. no longer are the countries we’ve heard of distant and i’ll-defined - in this book, they come center stage in all their flaws and failures. politics becomes so much more important to us, and in turn Han, as he works to find what it is he really wants.

yes this is a romance. yes, that’s 60% of why i love it. but better than any romance plot is the driving forces of love, destiny, belonging, strength, and going after what you want. i love how much these books care about the downtrodden. yeeeees there are stereotypes but they’re stereotypes that are constantly flipped on their heads and challenged. god its a good read. it was in 2011 and it still is today. show less

It's so great to see another series that just takes off like this; The Exiled Queen continues every bit of the great characters, fascinating world, and intriguing, magic-rich plot that The Demon King began.

Once again, the alternating stories of Raisa and Han are told, but these two are no longer just the headstrong princess and conflicted streetlord they once were. Raisa, now practically a fugitive, is fleeing the political web of power and betrayal the wizards have entangled the royal line in, and Han, grappling with his newly discovered status as a wizard, journeys to fulfill his side of a contract with the realm's spirit clans. But their paths are destined to cross again, this time at Oden's Ford, where the schools for wizards, show more soldiers, scholars, and dedicates collide.

I loved the way the story continued to twist and turn, with dashes of intrigue liberally thrown in. Han gets himself into several unusual alliances, reunites with unexpected old friends and enemies, and realizes that in order to keep his head above water in this new world, he will have to cultivate new skills in addition to his streetwise ways. Raisa, completely out of her element as a cadet in disguise, gets significant character development and becomes an even more admirable heroine (a scene in which she defends herself from assault with quite unladylike ferocity had me cheering inwardly). And their interactions together in this book, while again fairly brief, are very significant, taking things barely hinted at in the first novel and bringing them to the forefront. The author also continues the admirable skill of making sure the minor characters shine, and each of them is completely unique and integral to the story in some way.

The novel ends on another cliffhanger, perhaps even more suspenseful than the first, and it makes the wait ahead for the next Seven Realms book look way too long! show less

I nearly didn't go to bed last night, I wanted to finish this book so badly. And since my library doesn't have the next book available as an ebook, I went out and purchased the whole quartet. Largely because I make impulsive purchases when I'm hungry, but in no small part because it's really good.

Oh my, that was just as wonderful as the first book. Possibly better as the fantasy world Ms. Chima has created is even more fully-fleshed, just like the characters, who get proper backstories of thier own in many cases.

The only thing that grates just a little is the choice of the term "girlie" to refer to young women; it reminds me of Beth in [b:Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe.|855118|Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe. (Beth Lambert, #1)|Bette Greene|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347876697s/855118.jpg|2984586] when the fat white man calls her that and she wonders how he'd like being called a manlie. This is clearly my issue though and doesn't really qualify as a flaw.

At the end of [b: The Demon King|6342491|The Demon King (Seven Realms, #1)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379482652s/6342491.jpg|6528619], Princess Raisa's mother succumbed to political pressure and tried to marry her off to Micah Bayar, the Head Wizard's son. Raisa managed to trick her way out of the marriage ceremony, and now heads into hiding. Meanwhile, Han "Cuffs" Alister is also on the run from the Bayars after he stole one of their ancient, incredibly powerful amulets. Both independently find themselves in the same town, attending different legendary schools: Raisa among the warriors, and Han among the wizards. But even in a town dedicated to learning in a foreign land, trouble from home finds them...

The show more narrative is split between Raisa and Han. I am all in for Raisa's story about trying to prove herself in an environment where no one knows who she is (which not only adds some nice narrative tension, but also means she hears and experiences all sorts of stuff she's never encountered as a princess in her own land), trying to figure out how to be a just ruler, and puzzling out the web of conspiracies and plots that has entangled her mother's reign. Compared to that, I just don't care much about Han, who is always the best at everything the tries. Basically every scene ends with some character telling him that he's amazed them. I'd be much more interested in the long-lost heir to a terrible dark wizard who WASN'T all that magically powerful or smart. Plus, in order to keep Han in Raisa's orbit but still keep him ignorant of her royal blood, the narrative has to do all sorts of unlikely coincidences, which I'm not a fan of. And possibly most annoying of all, Han has chance after chance to kill Micah Bayar, and every single time he comes up with some dubious excuse not to. I think it's laudable that he wanted to keep violence out of the wizarding academy, and murder isn't easy, but not only does he not lethally defend himself against Micah's various murder and theft attempts, he also protects Micah from several powerful wizards out for his blood. Which makes no sense, given the horrible things Micah does and the fact that with him gone, Han is a million times safer.

eta: I noticed a few reviews of this book thought the scene when Han and Raisa wanted to have sex and then didn't because they didn't have contraception was inappropriate. As of 2013, almost half of all high school students have had sex, and slightly more than half of those teenagers used contraception. I don't think mentioning sex or contraception in a YA book is at all inappropriate; if anything I think the non-hysterical tone with which these books talk about sex could be helpful to teens.

I'm looking forward to seeing Raisa take the throne some day! On to the next in the series! show less

The Exiled Queen continues where the first book left off, with both Han and Raisa traveling across the lands to get to the famed academy where they train soldiers and magicians.

I couldn't finish this book. I almost can't believe it. It's not a horrible story, it's not as if I utterly loathe it. I got through 50% of it (120 pages or so) and then skimmed through the rest, but somehow... I just can't bear reading another 200 pages with sequels to boot.

Here are the reasons I have dropped this book, and consequently this series:
The plot has gotten ridiculously simplified. I don't even think half the plot lines are feasible.
None of the characters have changed or grown up.
I don't believe anything she writes anymore.
All of it bores me.

For the show more plot: (spoilers) Han meets the Bayar twins at the academy and prepares to face off. It's like Chima wanted to do a school scene of all a sudden! Ridiculous. As if problems aren't happening outside of their individual issues. What about the country and the war outside? Usually books go from a small, isolated area (like a school) and then expand outwards into the world. It doesn't really work in the reverse because there are more important things that I would rather be reading about - rather than seeing them master the magical fundamentals with childish rivalries.

As for Raisa, it's as if Chima decides to put her through a lot of trouble and give her the gift of "witch-speaking". What the bloody hell? One little speech gets her through life and death every single freaking time. I don't believe it all. She hasn't grown up nearly enough to deserve talking her way through survival and admittance to school. It's not believable and it's not doing anything for her character growth.

Picking up Cat, flaunting Han's amulet without any repercussions, Raisa preventing her death through five lines of pretty speech. No. Not believable at all. In fact, a very early point in the beginning of the story tells us that Han is going to the academy for revenge. What in freaking blazes? Nothing in his characters suggests that. I don't even know what this character is thinking. None of it is believable anymore. These characters are like caricatures of real people. It's like they're being dragged along a plot without any real character development. The main characters are too astute, the enemies are too stupid. Why aren't adults at a school smarter than the students? ...really. Caricatures, I say. Which makes me hate the story.

And the romances are just plain stupid. Everyone falls in love with everyone else - and I can literally say everyone because there are really only a handful of characters that matter.

Honestly, at this point, I don't care about the characters anymore. I don't care about the plot. I don't really care about the world and the magic. So what's there for me to continue reading?

One star because I can't finish the book. Perhaps with a bit more time on my hands and persistence, I actually probably could have finished this book through sheer will power. But it would have still been a book that is filled with unbelievable plot-twists, stagnant characters, and a very subpar world.
Recommended only if you can't bear to drop a series. And if you absolutely have nothing else to read. But I'd suggest you pick up another series entirely. show less

This review may contain spoilers for The Demon King.

I enjoyed The Demon King, but I did not love it. However after reading it, I was desperate for the next book in the series. Thanks to my fabulous local library, I was able to get this book in fairly quickly. After finishing this, I am now a solid, adoring fan of the series. This is becoming a fantastic fantasy series that definitely places among my favorites.

The book continues to narrate from mainly Raisa and Hans’ POV, which lets the reader to really experience their respective journeys. As I read, I fell even more in love with them both. They grow so much both as maturing characters mentally and becoming warriors physically. I think what I find the most admirable about them is show more their strength. Raisa has to sacrifice so much, and yet, she is always determined to find a way to help her country. Hans has suffered the deaths of his family members, but he uses his grief to propel him forward in life. Once again, the secondary characters threaten to steal the spotlight with the realistic way they are portrayed. That is such an impressive feat.

The stakes are raised as the realm falls into even more turmoil. Unfortunately, Raisa, Hans, and their allies also have to deal with the war in . As they both unknowingly journey to Oden’s Ford, they are faced by circumstances that test their courage and control. The pacing of this book is much more intense than the first book. Whereas The Demon King felt somewhat slow at times, The Exiled Queen just rushes onward. From the moment I began reading, I had a lot of trouble putting this book down.

Overall I found this to be a sequel that not only equaled its predecessor, but it also surpassed it. I absolutely and completely loved this book, and I have found myself to be a huge fan of the series. I am dying to read the next book! I was even too impatient to wait to get it on-loan, and I have gone ahead an ordered it. I would highly recommend this series to fans of high fantasy. Those who have enjoyed the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini may enjoy this. show less