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The Queen's Rising

The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross



Synopsis (from Goodreads)
When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron. . . .
However, despite all her preparations, Briennaā€™s greatest fear comes trueā€”the solstice does not go according to plan and she is left without a patron.
Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, and with no other choices, she accepts. But there is much more to his story, and Brienna soon discovers that he has sought her out for his own vengeful gain. For there is a dangerous plot being planned to overthrow the king of Maevanaā€”the archrival kingdom of Valeniaā€”and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involvedā€”some closer to Brienna than she realizes.



Review
Just a lovely, beautiful book. I really enjoyed reading it. It just kept growing and unfolding into a bigger and better story. Also, the cover is seriously gorgeous.

The characters were great. We come to know Brienna bit by bit, as she also comes to know herself. I loved the female friendships and the well-rounded female characters. I liked that they were feminine AND warriors, not just women trying to be like the men or having to prove they were as good as men. I also liked the various loving and healthy relationships between men and women (father, brother, friend), since a lot of times the men in books are either love interests or villains.

Best of all, there were never any creepy sexual assaults or rape-y overtones, which was so refreshing. There was romance, but it was slow growing, and really a side aspect to the overall story. It was something good and strengthening, without all the miscommunication and drama.

The descriptions of the settings were so lush and evocative, I felt like I was there. I could feel the warm sun on my face and the green grass beneath my feet. The descriptions of the gardens around the Summer Solstice were so evocative. And then Maevana sounds like a place where I'd want to live. It was obviously inspired by Scotland/Ireland, and just beautifully vivid with the deep forests and mists and castles.

Plot-wise, it moved at a pretty decent pace. It meanders a little in the beginning, but it's like a walk in the woods, where the scenery is so gorgeous you don't want to move too quickly. There were a few times I felt like the characters were a little naive, or maybe things worked out a little TOO easily, but not enough that it affected the story as a whole. If anything, it was kind of refreshing that not EVERYTHING went wrong all the time!

One warning I would give is don't look at the family trees at the beginning of the novel! There were a couple things that spoiled some of the plot-twists later in the book!

Overall, a beautiful read. I keep using that word, but I think it truly is the best description. I look forward to the companion novel!


Rating
I'd say the story over all is 4 stars, but I'm adding an extra .5 because of the no sexual violence! 4.5 stars.


Details
Genre: YA, Fantasy.
Language: Mild to none.
Sex: None.
Violence: There is a lot of bloody violence, but it's not over the top graphic. It's mostly when people are fighting on a battlefield.

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