The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Pages: 586pgs

The Story

You can't always run from danger . . .

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden's Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn't mean danger isn't far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery - but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raise ana'Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will ofer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

The Review

In ranks with some of my favourite books of all time including Lord of the Rings, Eragon and A Game of Thrones, I too absolutely adored Cinda Williams Chima's The Demon King, the first book in the series, and I wished I had read this series sooner than I did because this series alone is a true beauty that stood out from all the rest and this fantasy world Chima has managed to create . . . is something that just fascinates me to the core.

With her second installment of the Seven Realms series, THE EXILED QUEEN sure doesn't disappoint its readers and if anything, from the superb character development to the exciting, fast-paced action sequences, everything just keeps on getting better and better as the series progresses which only pumps up my enthusiasm once more. THE EXILED QUEEN continues the story of where The Demon King left off from, where the book is told alternatively by two of our main characters, Han Alister and Princess Raisa. However unlike the setting we've seen from the previous installment, this time round the majority of the book takes place in Oden's Ford with Raisa disguising herself as a cadet for Corporal Byrne, fearing for her own life, her own kingdom and not to mention she's also trying to escape an arranged marriage, and as for Han, who is now currently traveling with his friend companion, Dancer, he wants to be enlisted into a Wizardry school so he can gain the necessary training for his new and dangerous powers that could - and will - possibly destroy an entire kingdom. But as these two teens tread through many triumphs and downfalls, to the strict and cut-throat politics of this mundane and magical world, Han Alister and Princess Raisa will soon cross paths again and every single decision they choose to make will affect both themselves and for the rest of their lives.

Here's the thing about this particular book series . . . I'm so in love with the characters. Literally I love every single one of them, no matter the wrongs they do to themselves and to others! I mean, much like with another favourite book series of mine, the popular A Game of Thrones, neither character is painted as fully good or fully evil which only goes to prove what a great book series this actually is because I believe every character can have many sides to them, no just one entirely! But out of all the characters the two major ones I love most with all my heart and soul is of course the main characters we see through their lives, Han Alister and Princess Raisa ana'Marianna, who totally deserve more praise than other readers are willing to give them.

Han and Raisa couldn't be anymore different. Han basically lives in the slums whereas Raisa lives in total luxury or so it would seem at first. Han knows nothing more than of the dangers in the world and being the common criminal whereas Raisa knows nothing more than being presentable for her kingdom and looking pretty for the suitors who want to marry her to gain power and status. The list goes on when it comes to these two main characters but as you can see this hero and heroine are completely different and yet when they cross paths with one another, they couldn't be any more than perfect for each other . . . ahhhhh . . . I just adore them so, so much! The same goes with the supporting characters too and in particular with Raisa's I guess "bodyguard" Amon, who is so super sweet to Raisa and so beyond the line of duty that he possesses. I just adore him as well. But to get to real point, what I love more about this sequel compared to the first book was having more moments shared between Amon/Raisa and Han/Raisa, making me LOVE this book even more than I already do right now. So well done Chima for doing that to me!

Overall, THE EXILED QUEEN was so AWESOME in many respects and it was the sequel I expected it to be like so I'm one happy reader! To prove a point here, it's the kind of book that needs to be read by all if you catch my drift even if you might think it's not your cup of tea because in all honesty I believe this book is underrated for the most part which is a real shame since this series is so brilliant in every way, shape and form! I just LOVE it so, so much! Obviously.

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars