The Reluctant Queen Book Two of The Queens of Renthia

Sarah Beth Durst — 2017

Filled with political intrigue, violent magic, and malevolent spirits, the mesmerizing second book in Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia epic fantasy trilogy. Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . . And those spirits want to kill you. It’s the first lesson that every Renthian learns. Not long ago, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive those spirits and assume the royal throne. Since then, the new queen has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people. Naelin is one such person, and she couldn’t be further removed from the Queen—and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home, and that’s all she needs. But when Ven, the Queens champion, passes through the village, Naelin’s ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife’s ability to control spirits—magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows that if the truth of her abilities is known, it will bring only death and separation from those she loves. But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. He did it once when he discovered Daleina, and he’s certain he’s done it again. Yet for all his appeals to duty, Naelin is a mother, and she knows her duty is to her children first and foremost. Only as the Queen’s power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened—even as ominous rumors trickle down from the north—does she realize that the best way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything. Sarah Beth Durst established a place of dark wonder in The Queen of Blood, and now the stakes are even higher as the threat to the Queen and her people grows both from within and beyond the borders of Aratay in this riveting second novel of the Queens of Renthia series.

Reviews

Ashley Wendt@undertheasktra

Sep 6, 2022

I just love such cleverly well-written fantasy with some flawed yet badass FMC! I’m obsessed with the direction and ending SBD took with this book. What an awesome book 2!

Savannah Winchell@savantagonist

Aug 14, 2022

DNF 126

Sheila@duchess

Feb 7, 2022

I really really really really enjoyed this sequel to The Queen of Blood! The introduction of Naelin was so great and she's a breath of fresh air. Great plot twist and good set-up for the next book, can't wait!

Toni Turner@tonibahama

Jan 1, 2022

STILL gives gay energy. Is, in fact, not gay. Please explain, anybody...

celeste@corcordium

Nov 12, 2021

*I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 3.75 stars Okay, the ending redeemed a lot of the problems that I originally had with this book. To be honest, I would only want to read the third book of this trilogy for Bayn the wolf. Please, PROTECT THE WOLF AT ALL COSTS. This was significantly better than the first novel in this series. A lot of things that were only hinted at in The Queen of Blood were given detailed explanations here; the world-building was further explained, the characters felt more developed and not two-dimensional -even if I still think we could have been done away with one particular romantic relationship. And even though no one knows how women are the only ones who can have an affinity towards spirits and have the power to control them, the magic of how that control is enforced was a little bit more developed, since this was mainly the focus of the book's plotline. We are also introduced to new characters, some of which I really enjoyed reading about. Naelin gets to share the MC status just as Daleina does, and even though her whining about not wanting power annoyed me at the beginning, it is understandable taking into account she is a mother of two kids and she only ever wanted to be left alone. In the end, I think she came around and understood that it was selfish of her to think that way when the people of Aratay needed the protection that she could offer. Now onto the problems I had while reading this. The romantic relationship that came out of nowhere in the first book and had no foundation or development whatsoever. It's hard to believe the love Daleina and Hamon claim to have for each other, when we haven't been given any kind of reason for us to believe in it. The only reason I could see for this to still be a thing in the second book was because they needed the help from Hamon's mother. That was it. Another thing I think was completely ridiculous was how Daleina's sister became a master at preparing and identifying poisons overnight. Even if she had the best poisoner teacher in the whole fucking world, there is no way you can make me believe that a teenager of 14 years old is going to master the arts of poisoning in just a matter of three days. Like, no. It's not gonna happen. Try again. And the most important of them all, the poisoner's reveal that wasn't much of a reveal. Seriously? The author was basically pointing with a finger at the person who ended up being the poisoner with the hints she was giving all throughout the book. It was way too obvious. And the worst thing was that she started doing that since the middle of the book!! I had to sit there and stare like-I-was-in-the-office style every time the poisoner tried to hide the OBVIOUS signs of guilt on it's face. It took everything away from what could have been an extraordinary climax when the reveal was done. But no, you could see who it was from a mile away. Like I've said, this was still much better than the first book, especially because a lot of questions I had were explained here, and the characters felt more well-rounded as well. I still had a lot of issues with it that go beyond whether or not I like how original this YA fantasy story is.

Elodia@eloreads

Oct 20, 2021

I still don’t see an overarching plot for the series, though one may develop in the third book. I love the how different the magic system is compared to other fantasy books I have read. The spirits are terrifying, and so great to read about. The characters are well rounded, especially Daleina and Ven and I liked all of them. Well, all except Naelin and her kids. I have also come to the realization that I do not like little kids in books, they’re normally described way more annoying than they are in real life (I say this as someone with 10 nieces and nephews that are always around). I didn’t like that Daleina and her story was pushed aside in favor of Naelin. I like Daleina as a character way more and I hope she is more present in the third book. Overall, it was a well grounded sequel, and I can’t wait to see how the series ends.