My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Title: The Queen Will Betray You
Author: Sarah Henning
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 7/6/21
Publisher: Tor Teen
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Political Intrigue
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Tor Teen for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
The breathtaking sequel to The Princess Will Save You in the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky duology — a brilliantly-executed YA fantasy homage to The Princess Bride
To stay together forever, Princess Amarande and her stableboy love, Luca, must part: Amarande to reclaim her kingdom from usurpers, and Luca to raise a rebellion and find his destiny. Arrayed against them are all the players in the game of thrones for control over the continent of The Sand and Sky. Facing unspeakable betrayals, enemies hidden in the shadows, and insurmountable odds, their only hope is the power of true love…
In this sequel to The Princess Will Save You, the political chess continues! Ama and Luca are separated throughout most of this story but they reunite near the end. Amarande has really uncovered a lot of secrets about her family, some good and some bad. Luca also learns more about his past. They achieve what they planned to do and maintain their sweet love for one another throughout because it’s true love! The Princess Bride fans will know what that refers to!
Now the person I thought was the most intriguing in this story, which surprised even me because he’s a villain, is Prince Taillefer. He did some vile things to Luca and obviously he’s in it for his own gains but he had no qualms playing the long game to get his kingdom even if it was against his own mother. That whole family was pretty toxic but as a character, he was the most fascinating.
There is a lot of action in this sequel, especially towards the end and that was fun to read.
Triggers: violence, death
The Warlord in this sequel is brutal and quite unexpected because for the most part it reads like a light young adult fantasy novel (to me at least). I welcomed the brutality from the Warlord just to lend the story some intensity but yeah, it definitely showed the depths the Warlord was willing to go to show her power.
Speaking of warlord, there are a lot of villains and political intrigue in this story. I thought it definitely kept the story moving as we uncover betrayals and personal motivations from the players in this fight for kingdoms. Not even blood ties can keep you safe, like in the case of Prince Taillefer and his family. Who can really be trusted? Even Ama and her own mother had history to deal with.
Ama and Luca get their true love moment and even Prince Traillefer gets his way in the end . It leaves everything fair and square and the bigger villains vanquished. I think as a duology it was fairly enjoyable, with some parts that resembled The Princess Bride. I found the villains fascinating and the love story sweet. Overall, if you like political intrigue and a dash of true love – you may enjoy this one.
📚 ~ Yolanda
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