Clare Reviews: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Title: The Shadow Queen

Author: C.J. Redwine

Series: Ravenspire #1

Format: Paperback

Pages: 387

Rating: 4.5/5

Blurb: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

"A warrior doesn’t focus on the odds stacked against her. She focuses on her heart, on her will to face the evil in her world and defeat it, and then she finds a way to do it."

I'm sure by now that it's obvious I am a sucker for a fairy-tale retelling. So as soon as this book was released I wanted it, but I'll admit to being slightly nervous about it as well - I've seen some fairly mixed reviews. I needn't have worried at all. This is one of the most emotionally traumatic retellings I have ever read. And I mean that in a good way.

Lorelai and Leo had my heart from the beginning of the story and I wanted them to succeed so badly. Lorelai was strong and determined and very, very powerful and Leo, her brother, was the sort of character you can't help but love. And then we have Kol, the prince. I didn't love him quite as much as I loved Lorelai and Leo but he definitely grew on me and I thoroughly believed in his ability to lead. He also had his own kind of strength, very different from Lorelai's but just as important and I admired that.

As I mentioned before this was a very emotionally up and down book. I could go from laughter to crying in the space of one chapter just as I could go from fully believing Lorelai would win with no problems to suddenly thinking that maybe everyone would die (unlikely in a fairy-tale I know). C.J. Redwine was superb at manipulating my emotions. The plot is, obviously, a Snow White retelling and so needs little description. But I would say that Lorelai was far more pro-active than most Snow White's I've read and the "Evil Queen" was, whilst undeniably a horrible person - somehow one I actually came to feel a bit sorry for. 

The story is populated with some amazing side characters and although the majority of the story revolves around Lorelai and Kol, I found myself growing attached to the small glimpses we got of the other characters lives. Lorelai's mentor/father figure Gabril was one of these. As was Kol's sister who appears only briefly at the beginning of the story but somehow managed to make me love her.

This is the first book in a companion series (which is my favourite kind of series) so whilst this book is complete in itself - which means thankfully no cliff-hangers - there will be more books in this world to look forward to. There is no description for book 2 on goodreads currently but I am already dying to read it. If you like fairy-tale retellings as much as I do or if you just feel like reading about a kick-ass main character and some dragons then I definitely recommend this book. 

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Wednesday Catch-Up 23rd March 2016

Every Wednesday we are linking up with WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words and asks 3 questions: What are you currently reading?, What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you'll read next? 

Clare:

Currently Reading:

I am nearly finished reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and I'm not sure how I feel about it so far. There is a lot of girls hating other girls which I always dislike but I am hoping I end up enjoying it. I am also now on page 190 of The Warden by Anthony Trollope which I am definitely enjoying. It's a very light and easy read and it's introduced a neighbourhood that I am sure I am going to enjoy as the series continues.

Recently Finished:

I am very glad I finally read Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. I had been worried I'd hyped it up too much and I had a tiny bit but I really enjoyed this story and I even almost cried in a few places. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger so I am very excited for the next book in the series. I then read A Tyranny of Petticoats which is a short story collection edited by Jessica Spotswood. The stories are ordered chronologically which I really liked because it showed how attitudes towards and of women - and the issues they faced - changed over the years. I thought the last half of the book was my personal favourite but there are stories to appeal to anyone and I do recommend it. The Steep & Thorny Way was every bit as amazing as I had expected it to be. There is no way to over hype a Cat Winters book, they always seem to exceed expectations. I can't even talk about this book rationally but I loved the characters and the historical elements broke my heart even as Cat Winters put it back together again. Dorothy Must Die was, I'll admit, a bit disappointing. The action was there but I didn't feel emotionally connected to the characters and the first two thirds didn't really hold my attention. If the library has the sequels then I will probably read them, but I don't think they're a priority for me. Princess of Thorns was a great fairy-tale sequel with an original twist on the origin story which I liked and it also melded two fairy tales into one in a very good way. I always enjoy Stacey Jay's writing and I think this may be my favourite of hers so far. I then read The Shadow Queen which I actually really enjoyed - I will have a full review up for this tomorrow.

Planning to Read Next:

I am probably going to read Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard next and then I am thinking of reading The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury and then The Young Elites by Marie Lu - I enjoyed the Legend trilogy and from what I've heard this series is even better. 

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Top 5 Books I Did Not Finish

Top 5 Wednesdays are hosted by Lainey and you can find the goodreads group here if you're interested in taking part! This was a difficult one because I don't often leave books unfinished and if I do it's usually just because I'm in the wrong mood for them and I go back to them later. 

1) Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I just couldn't. I do tend to read popular books and I tried but Ana must be the most boring heroine ever and Christian is just a horrible person. 

2) The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

This is kind of unfair because this was not the books fault! I don't often read middle grade and I made an exception for this one but couldn't make it through - which is my own fault and I've now passed the series on to Ann who will hopefully enjoy it a lot more.

3) Splintered by A.G. Howard

I know a lot of people love this series but I hated the main character and the main love interest and I couldn't do it. And I usually love Alice in Wonderland retellings.

4) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

I technically made it to the end but I skip read so much that I don't think it counts as reading. Which is odd since I enjoyed the film so much. 

5) Fallen by Lauren Kate

I borrowed this from the library soon after it first came out and I think I made it about one chapter in.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Top Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Never Talk About!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke & the Bookish and you can check it out here if you would like to take part!

1) Chime by Franny Billingsley

I've think I may have mentioned this before as a favourite fairy tale story but I just loved this book. It's a little darker than I expected and there are some surprises along the way. 

2) The Princess Bride 

This is kind of a no-brainer for me. I love The Princess Bride so much. And yet I never talk about it! (Side note; I can quote the movie word for word the whole way through - which is an odd talent to have.)

3) Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

I used to think I hated historical mysteries until I read this series. I love all of Deanna Raybourn's books but this series has a special place in my heart as it was one of my first of hers.

4) Red by Alison Cherry

This appealed to me as a red-head and the book was full of great characters and the plot was amazing. Thinking about it makes me desperately want to re-read it. 

5) Tainted Angel by Anne Cleeland

There is no way to know who to trust in this book which I absolutely loved. I can't remember the last time I questioned the true allegiance of everyone so often - including the main character. Who, by the way, was absolutely awesome.

6) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

A friend recommended this to me once and I tried it not really expecting to like it since it's not my usual genre but I absolutely love it. It's nothing like you'd expect it to be from the blurb and the historical details were amazing. 

7) Madam, Will You Talk by Mary Stewart

Mary Stewarts books are always a hit with me, but this was the first of hers I read so I will always love it just a bit more! I never saw the twist coming (I may just be really dumb) and even on re-reading it never loses its charm.

8) I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Not the first Sophie Kinsella I ever read but this book made me laugh so much. I recently lent it to Ann and she loved it just as much.

9) Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

I can't remember the first Susanna Kearlsey book I read and I love all of her books so it was hard for me to pick just one. But this (and Sophia's Secret) seems to be the one I return to most often.

10) The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

My favourite childhood book. I'm pretty sure I've read this so often I could recite the story. It's fun and sweet and just a really great story with a main character who is so easy to love.



You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Cover Characteristic: Kissing

Cover Characteristic is a weekly feature over at Sugar & Snark. 

Of these I've only read My Life Next Door and Rules of Attraction but I do want to read the others. Plus One is definitely my favourite of these covers. Although I obviously like all of them.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Sunday Post 20th March 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it.

Last Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Doorknobs
• Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Top 5 Fictional Items I Want!

Books We Got This Week:

A Tyranny of Petticoats Edited by Jessica Spotswood: Not only does this contain stories by some of my favourite authors, it also has stories of "Belles, Bank Robbers and Other Badass Girls"! What's not to love?

Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie: My parents got me a box set of Poirot mysteries for my birthday which includes books 2, 6, 12, 21, 30, 34 in the above order. I am very excited for these because I love the TV show.

Reading Update:

Ann:

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare: 5 stars, OMG!!! I loved this book so much, I loved everything about it and it was amazing. Also I read it faster than you Clare! 
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill: 3.5 stars, Good but not my kinda book and not that realistic. Also for someone who is intelligent the main character is oblivious to a lot of things.

Clare:

Starflight by Melissa Landers: 4 stars, For the first 50 pages or so of this I was not convinced but once the pace picked up I was all in. There is excitement and romance and fun and emotional bits. And its a series without a cliffhanger which makes me unbelievably happy. 

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: 3.5 stars, I really enjoyed this but there is the dreaded love triangle and I wasn't entirely sure how the time travel worked. Nevertheless I really enjoyed her relationship with her father and I am intrigued to see what happens next!

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken: 4 stars, The time travel in this actually almost made sense to me which is basically a miracle! I loved the characters and the historical elements but I needed more threat from the villains - everything came at the end (and there was a hugely dramatic ending) but I wanted that tension all the way through and I just didn't feel it. Very excited for book 2!

A Tyranny of Petticoats Edited by Jessica Spotswood: 4 stars, I really enjoyed the majority of the stories - particularly towards the end of the book. The stories are in chronological order with the first taking place in 1710 and the last in 1968. Some of the stories - the first few - had a magical element to them that I wasn't sure how I felt about - although I definitely enjoyed Andrea Cremer's story (who doesn't love some brutal revenge?). Overall I think I did enjoy the more realistic stories a bit more especially the ones based on true stories. 
The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters: 5 stars, Each Cat Winters' book I reads seems to be even better than the last. I loved everything about this book. It hurt me but it left me with hope. And boy did it make me cry.
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige: 3 stars, I'm not really sure about this one. I enjoyed parts of it but Amy annoyed me at times and I found myself wanting to skip pages occasionally. 

Next Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Kissing
• Top Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Never Talk About
• Top 5 Books We Did Not Finish
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Friday Reads
• Joint Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading