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| TITLE: The Queen's Choice (Heirs of Chrior #1) AUTHOR: Cayla Kluver PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen PUB DATE: Jan 28 2014 |
Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.
When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equaled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.
Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined…
- Source: Goodreads
Rating:
"A long time ago...I'd thought that bravery could be attained with an open mind and heart, by pursuing and facing my demons. Now I considered that fearlessness was the luxury of the cloistered and blind, and that it was too late for me."
Characters. Anya is an incredible protagonist. She's the type of girl that no matter how many times you try to bring down will always be up on her feet, head held high and moving forward. She's strong and patient. I can't imagine how calm and collected she is throughout all the things she's been through, and still focused on her ultimate goal in finding the Prince. As for the others, I didn't put that much thought into them.
Love Interest. There isn't much of a romance within this book, although there is Anya's "fiancé" and another potential love interest, it was almost non existent since the better part of the book was focused on finding the Prince. But I have to say, Anya has a poor choice in picking her partner. I don't believe that a relationship would work if you don't support each other's passions. While I understand the fiancé's qualms over Anya's safety, I feel like he feels her curiosity with the humans is a nuisance he has to bear. Yeah, no!
Setting. If I commended Anya's character, I am at awe with the author's world building skills. With the way she described the places Anya travelled to and from, as well as the spin on the Faerie world, it feels like the only thing lacking is the actual smell of the place and readers are totally there. Superb job, Ms Cluver!
Plot. This book has an incredible mystery wrapped within and it was so intriguing that I had to keep reading. Although it takes a while to unravel, one can definitely see its potential.
Pacing. Ah, here's where it gets bad. The Queen's Choice started off so well that I couldn't put it down, but when I got to the middle part there was so much traveling and not much else happening that it eventually got too boring. But as I said earlier, the mystery was very intriguing that I sucked it up and went through all the nonsensical stuff. And when I reached the end... BOOM! What a cliffhanger!
Verdict. Let's see... How do I best describe The Queen's Choice? Sssslooooooowww... Man, was it a drag! The good parts were definitely the start and end. If you have the patience to go through the middle parts you'll surely want to read the next book by the time you finish this one.
Characters. Anya is an incredible protagonist. She's the type of girl that no matter how many times you try to bring down will always be up on her feet, head held high and moving forward. She's strong and patient. I can't imagine how calm and collected she is throughout all the things she's been through, and still focused on her ultimate goal in finding the Prince. As for the others, I didn't put that much thought into them.
Love Interest. There isn't much of a romance within this book, although there is Anya's "fiancé" and another potential love interest, it was almost non existent since the better part of the book was focused on finding the Prince. But I have to say, Anya has a poor choice in picking her partner. I don't believe that a relationship would work if you don't support each other's passions. While I understand the fiancé's qualms over Anya's safety, I feel like he feels her curiosity with the humans is a nuisance he has to bear. Yeah, no!
Setting. If I commended Anya's character, I am at awe with the author's world building skills. With the way she described the places Anya travelled to and from, as well as the spin on the Faerie world, it feels like the only thing lacking is the actual smell of the place and readers are totally there. Superb job, Ms Cluver!
Plot. This book has an incredible mystery wrapped within and it was so intriguing that I had to keep reading. Although it takes a while to unravel, one can definitely see its potential.
Pacing. Ah, here's where it gets bad. The Queen's Choice started off so well that I couldn't put it down, but when I got to the middle part there was so much traveling and not much else happening that it eventually got too boring. But as I said earlier, the mystery was very intriguing that I sucked it up and went through all the nonsensical stuff. And when I reached the end... BOOM! What a cliffhanger!
Verdict. Let's see... How do I best describe The Queen's Choice? Sssslooooooowww... Man, was it a drag! The good parts were definitely the start and end. If you have the patience to go through the middle parts you'll surely want to read the next book by the time you finish this one.
*Thank you, Harlequin Teen, and NetGalley for granting my request to view The Queen's Choice.
