Book Review: Queen of Fury | Natania Barron

Queen of Fury by Natania Barron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG like... I liked Queen of None well enough, (oh look I gave it 4 stars), but this one... I figure you could skip the first and just READ THIS. (Well, assuming you have a core knowledge of Arthurian legends.)

Hwyfar is fire and fury and everything you would want in a Queen. Of course, King Arthur can't have that because then she would challenge him and his authority too much. So he marries her sisters instead (in succession, not at the same time, lol). But Hwyfar is still a Princess of Avillion in her own right, not just Arthur's jilted bride, and when she's done wallowing, she finds a way to rise to her true calling and protect her homeland.

There's a dual POV in this one, so you're following both Hwyfar of Avillion and Gawain of Orkney, which is brilliant in this (okay, maybe a little tropish) tale of fated lovers, treason, and magic, especially since both parties present a very different persona to the world than they truly are/feel. There's interweavings of the tales of the green man (Green Knight?) and the lost kingdom of Lyonesse, cults with corrupt magic, and a navigating of forbidden love because King Arthur is a self-absorbed, insecure man who cannot abide anyone better than him nearby for fear that they will rise up and take his throne. Even if it's his own nephew.

Content warnings: I have to add that this is 100% NOT a clean read. A key theme in the magic of this story is the concept of "carioz" or partners, and the exchange of power or energy in this pairing worked out via a lot of blood and sex.

It's a marked shift from Anna Pendragon's story, where the protagonist herself is hidden in the shadows - and stays there. Here, Hwyfar is meant to be relegated to the background, but she steals the reins for herself, taking command of her own destiny. It's still very much a period piece though, showcasing what she can (or cannot) do within the constraints of a misogynistic, chauvinistic society - especially if she wants to balance agency with respectability. There's also that pesky thing about family loyalty and how all they want to do might break the peace of the kingdom since they're both from royal families.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Solaris/Rebellion Publishing via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

---

 Apparently you can preorder Queen of Fury here. It releases in December! Read my review of Queen of None here. 

Book Review: To Weave the Wind | Sharon Rose

To Weave the Wind by Sharon Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ever since Devron's time in To Form a Passage, the ties between Dirklan Province below and the rest of Welcia above have been kept alive through the half-year opening of the dome and a formal exchange of representatives. Princess Fanteal's grandfather is the Prime Minister of Dirklan, her mother is Dirklan's Ambassador to Welcia, and now it's Fanteal's turn to take her place as the Royal Ambassador to Dirklan. She's supposed to have the guidance of her grandfather, a canny politician who has planned out the transition... except when the time comes, he's dead and a new, desperate Prime Minister has been installed in his place.

Misunderstandings abound. Fanteal is assured she will have a year to choose a suitable husband, but everyone in Dirklan assumes she will marry the Prime Minister's son. What Fanteal is trained for is to be an ambassador, yet all her suitors - sons of various Dirklan Governors - assume that she will be nothing more than a trophy wife. Most important of all, Fanteal is a powerfully gifted wind weaver, but what Dirklan really wants and needs is a streamer to restore the trade cataracts.

To Weave the Wind is a fantastic read that weaves all the usual political drama about kingdoms and thrones and backstabbing, unscrupulous usurpers with a gentle enemies-to-friends-to-lovers storyline. There's plenty of ambition and pride to go around, but there's also honour, loyalty, and integrity, exemplified in the Mikkaels - the new Prime Minister and his son, Jaikon. Rose makes good use of cultural shifts between those who live above and below ground to build up these misunderstandings - especially when there is a huge communication barrier in the form of an entire swath of rock that prevents either group from going up or down except through the dome.

Where To Form a Passage is a story of visions and dreams and trusting in God (or, well, Ellincreo), To Weave the Wind is a story of restoration. Dirklan, for all that its Keepers speak against idols, has fallen away from true worship. They have covered up the vision wall that once saved them, saying that visions are a thing of the past. They have suppressed the gifts of the wind weavers, putting restrictions on them because they are not deemed 'useful'. They ignore certain gifts, even those of formers, who don't fit into what the current leadership can do.

Yet who is to say that a gift from Ellincreo isn't useful? Or that He isn't sending something unusual that will be useful precisely for such a time as this?

(Hmm, in saying that, there really were some Queen Esther vibes...)

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

---

To Weave the Wind is available directly from Sharon Rose's website or from Amazon. You may as well get To Form a Passage while you're at it! :) You probably don't need to read the first one to understand the second as they're not directly linked, but it's pretty cool to see the things you read in the first book become a myth/legend in the second. (Paperbacks were available at time of review, hopefully ebooks will be too by the time this posts!) ((No I'm not paid for this, I just like these books lol))

#bookreview: DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe | HL Burke

DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 1 by H.L. Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it!

This is a compilation of 10 short stories written by 10 authors in H.L. Burke's supervillain rehabilitation universe. Which means that all these stories feature redemption in some form - whether it's a kid being provided guidance before (or while) they get too deep into trouble, or adults being given a second chance to do the right thing. Orrrr supervillains who "accidentally" do the right thing because at heart they're actually still good human beings deep inside.

There's quite a range of stories here, from sweet romances to slice-of-life, action to... something of a heist so there should be something for every kind of reader. The overarching theme seems to be "everyone can be a hero to someone else, even if you think you/your powers are useless", which, obviously, is a good message to take away.

View all my reviews

---

Get it here! (Amazon affiliate link)