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The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross Review

Hello Bookish Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

How has your summer reading been going so far? I've been pretty happy with how many books I've managed to finish so far this summer. And even better, I've actually really enjoyed most of the titles I've chosen to read so far.

Today I'd like to share a review with you all for a new favorite book of mine that I finished last month.

The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross:






Source: Bought for Myself

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: February 6th, 2018

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Series: The Queen's Rising


Synopsis:

In this epic debut fantasy, inspired by Renaissance France, an outcast finds herself bound to a disgraced lord and entangled in his plot to overthrow the king. Perfect for fans of Grave Mercyand Red Queen!

Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron. Growing up in Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her. While some are born with a talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she chose knowledge. However, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true: 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, she reluctantly accepts. But there is much more to his story, for there is a dangerous plot to overthrow the king of Maevana—the rival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the throne.

With war brewing, Brienna must choose which side she will remain loyal to: passion or blood.

Plus don't miss the thrilling sequel, The Queen's Resistance!


(synopsis from goodreads)




My Review:

I hadn't been having the greatest luck with the fantasy genre lately. Every book I chose to pick up seemed to kind of blend together. Between predictable plot lines, world building that got too confusing to follow, and protagonists that didn't really stand out from each other, I was kind of ready to take a break from this genre for awhile. However, I am so happy to say that all of that changed when I picked up this debut novel from Rebecca Ross.

Rarely have I ever seen a book have such beautiful, visual writing, and it really sets the stage for a fabulous story. I was first intrigued by this one when I heard it has a boarding school setting, as I tend to love books that do so. However, I really wasn't expecting too much for this story, and I'm so glad that I was proven wrong.

Brienna has been an arden at Magnolia House for seven years. She was brought here under false pretenses, and because of such, she had a hard time finding the passion she truly felt drawn to. After making her way through art, music, drama and wit, her last remaining option is knowledge. This is definitely where she ends up feeling the most comfortable, partly because of the connection she feels with her instructor, Master Cartier. Brienna works her hardest to master the knowledge passion in the three years she has left at Magnolia House, but it ends up not being quite enough. She's left without a patron, and is forced to remain at Magnolia while her fellow arden sisters move on to bigger and better things. However, Brienna's story is just beginning. The truth of her ancestry has always been kept a secret from her for her own good, and as bits and pieces start to be revealed, her life is tossed and turned in ways she never could have seen coming.

A disgraced lord ends up offering her patronage, and it'll all tie into the revelations she's come to know about herself and her ancestry line. Brienna is soon drawn into a dangerous plot to overthrow a ruthless king who has no place on the throne, and to reinstate the queen who truly deserves to be there. Brienna refuses to back away from the challenge, even though doing so would definitely be the safer option. She won't stop until all of her patron's plan are brought to fruition, and in the process, she'll discover more and more of just who she truly is, and what her true purpose is.

I was in no way prepared for just how amazing this story truly is. The plot is intricate, and complex, while still never going in a direction that confuses the reader which is so often a pet peeve of mine within the fantasy genre. Within the many plot twists and turns, I also appreciated the fact that it didn't go in the predictable direction that I was worried it was going to, and I was pleasantly surprised with the way everything weaves together in the end. Brienna was a main character that I really ended up enjoying. I loved her selflessness, her bravery, and the way she truly comes to care about everyone who comes into her life. I've already spoken about how I've found so many of the female protagonists in the fantasy genre to all blend together lately, and I'm completely thrilled that Brienna truly stood out, and never got on my nerves during the entirety of her story.

Rebecca Ross' writing is amazing. This 439 page book literally felt like less than three hundred, and I appreciated the fact that the plot never seemed to drag or to focus on things that weren't important to the story. The world building is some of the best I've ever encountered, and I was completely enthralled with how enchanting and captivating it truly is.

I know some reviewers have mentioned having a problem with the romance element, but I actually really enjoyed it. I loved Brienna and Cartier together, and I appreciated the fact that both go to great lengths to keep anything inappropriate from occurring between them. 

Final Rating 5/5

I couldn't have enjoyed this more, and I'm so grateful to have finally discovered a fantasy book that dragged me out of the dreaded reading slump I've been in with this genre lately. Also, I loved the fact that content wise, this book was actually pretty clean. The content has been another issue I've had with most of the fantasy novels I've read lately, so I much appreciated the fact that this one was fairly clean. I can't wait to read the sequel, and I will most definitely be recommending this one. 


Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day.


This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 


The photo was taken by me, and belongs to me. 


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