The Queen's Choice

Heirs of Chrior #1

by Cayla Kluver

Magic was seeping out of me, black and excruciating. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen’s mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined…

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, High Fantasy, Fae, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic, Romance

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Cayla Kluver is the author of the Legacy Series (LEGACY, 2011; ALLEGIANCE, 2012; SACRIFICE, 2012). Her new book THE QUEEN'S CHOICE will be published by HarlequinTEEN in winter 2013/spring 2014.

Cayla spends her free time singing, reading, dancing, and horseback riding. Her office is filled with twinkly lights. She travels frequently to speak at middle and high schools, libraries, and book conventions. New York City is one of her favorite places on the planet.

Reviews

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver
Book One of the Heirs of Chroir trilogy
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Rating: 1 star
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.

What I Liked:

I strongly disliked this book. The only thing I liked about this book was the writing style. Kluver has a GORGEOUS writing style. The descriptions were lyrical, the musings poetic. I loved certain lines in this book, certain lines that I forgot to bookmark, oops. And it's not like I'm going to re-read this book to find them. Oh well.

What I Did Not Like:

So, so many things. I had so many problems with this book. The length, the boredom-induced story, the story/plot, the characters, the fail of a romance, the lack of interest (is that boredom?)... bleh.

I'll start with the length of this novel. WOW, this book was long. Usually, length does not bother me. I have no problem reading books that are hundreds and hundreds of pages long. 300, 400, 500, even 600 pages, I can handle. But this book didn't need HALF the content it had. Remember how I said that I loved the writing style? Well, it was gorgeous, but it totally lent itself to the length of the book, and not in a good way. It is not necessary to comment about EVERY LITTLE DETAIL. I promise, it's not. We don't need to know about every single tiny specific detail of anything.

This leads to my next dislike: I was SOOOO bored, while reading this book. I have never come as close to NOT finishing as I did with this book. You all know how I'm not in the habit of "DNF"-ing books? I was so close, you all, SO CLOSE. This is THAT BAD. It's so boring. The writing style is gorgeous, but after a while, it gets repetitive and tedious and boring. This book is written in first-person, and let me tell you, the protagonist Anya's voice is terribly boring. It's so bad, trying to read things from her point-of-view. I seriously wanted to fall asleep on more than a thousand occasions, while attempting to read this book.

The story is so, so boring. Basically, Anya decides that it is her responsibility to go find Zabriel, the heir to the faerie throne. Funny, because she is the one who will inherit the throne, if Zabriel does not come back. Which he won't, apparently. To begin with, the entire point of this book is STUPID. Anya was NOT supposed to go find Zabriel - that was her cousin Illumina's job. Then, Anya goes out in the world, and she loses her faerie wings. BIG MISTAKE, IDIOT. You should have known better from THAT POINT. That's like, 10% of the book. The other 90% is Anya and a human she meets, Shea, traipsing around the human world, getting themselves into crazy, stupid situations. Really, people with half - no, a quarter - of a brain could have avoided most of those situations.

Which brings me to my fourth point. The characters are STUPID. Like, real dumba****. I don't like a single one of them, save Zabriel, because he had the sense to get out of the faerie realm, and he still has his wings, and he doesn't want to go back. The only stupid thing he did was trust Anya.

Ugh, Anya, What a stupid, stupid faerie. A dumb, brainless girl. She thinks she is invincible, really. Oh, I'm a faerie, therefore I can just march into the human world and DO WHATEVER I WANT. No. Just, NO. Then, after she loses her wings, she mopes around for the entire book. THE ENTIRE BOOK. Like, yes, mourn for the wings. But seriously, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and STOP WHINING.

Yes, Anya is a whiner. And a complainer. I don't know how people can see her as "strong" and "brave" and a "fighter". I hate those words in YA literature sometimes - very rarely is the heroine ever worthy of being called "strong", "brave", or "a fighter".

Don't even get me started on Shea. I hate her so much. NOT even because of what she did at the end of the story. Good for her on that one. No, I hated her because Kluver totally constructed her character badly. Like, she's supposed to be defiant and outspoken, but to me, it comes off as forced and fake. When she is outspoken, it seems forced in the situation. Shea is so fake, as a character.

Honestly, all of the characters seem either flat or fake or both. Except Zabriel, maybe.

Ha! On to my fifth point. The romance is a FAIL. Like, I can appreciate the fact that there is hardly any mention of romance in this book. You know how I like it when the romance in YA books don't dominate the plot? When the romance is secondary? When the whole world isn't depending on the romance? Well, that is how the romance is, in this book. But then, it's not. Anya is bonded (or whatever) with Davic, but since she is no longer a faerie, she can't enter the faerie world, and she can no longer feel the bond between her and Davic. And guess what happens when Anya is in the human world?!

Yup, you guessed it. There is a love triangle coming in this series. Maybe not quite in this book, but it will manifest in the second book. Anya strings along Davic, and she has a human. So, realistically, the romance CAN overtake the overall plot of this series. Because humans and faeries don't mix - the only one known is Zabriel. So, it would be a big deal if Anya picked the human, even if Anya herself isn't technically a faerie anymore. This is stupid.

My last point... lack of interest. Guys, I was so excited to read this book. A fantasy novel, by the legendary Cayla Kluver. What could possibly go wrong?! 512 pages? No problem! Well, apparently, there WAS a problem. Or many problems. My favorite genre is fantasy, especially high fantasy (like this one), and I was super disappointed. The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't care less what was happening. Kluver, Anya, and this story could not hold my interest.

Wait, I have one more point: I'm so confused about some things. It takes a good amount of craziness to confuse me... I don't get confused easily. But I could not keep track of the random places in this book, or the weird customs, or the unnecessary flashbacks. The flashbacks were so stupid, because it wasn't like there was a pattern to them, in the structure of the book. And honestly, after one or two, I just started skipping them. No point in reading something that doesn't help me.

Then again, I should have used that logic with this book, and stopped reading after like, 3%. Too bad I can't NOT finish books. I force myself to read and finish them. I really, REALLY had to force myself with this one. Argh.

Bottom line: this book was a waste of my very precious time. It's not easy, reviewing and blogging while in college (especially the college I'm attending). So, I'm mad that I wasted my time. It's no one's fault but mine for choosing to read this book... well, the author did write the book. Ugh. C'est la vie.

Would I Recommend It:

No, not at all. Not even to old fans of Kluver who liked her Legacy series. This book was just BAD. I mean, I feel like I'm in the minority, but seriously, there are so many others books that I am DYING to read... and I forced myself to struggle through this one. Save yourself the trouble, and read something you really want to read.

Rating:

1 star. UGH. I hate feeling like I've wasted my time, but unfortunately, that's how I feel about this book. What a way to start the year! Although, this is my third review of 2014.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also reviewed for Addicted2Heroines

Honestly, the first few chapters of this were pretty meh. Or at least they were to me. It definitely slides toward adventure on the action-adventure scale. By that I mean the plot doesn't move at a break-neck pace. It's more of a story about the journey Anya takes, and the pacing reflects that.
I'm not saying The Queen's Choice was boring by any means, and once I got a feel for what was happening I really enjoyed it.

The story starts with Anya coming home to Chrior after spending an extended period of time traveling in the human territories. Even though Anya is bonded (engaged) to a wonderful guy, she loves to leave the faerie kingdom and explore the human world. Mr. Wonderful has never left the kingdom of Chrior, and can't understand why she feels the need to wander. He seems pretty boring, but at least he doesn't try to stop her from going.
Anya is fae royalty, but she's never actually considered that she might have any real responsibility coming her way. After all, her cousin Illumina is the next in line for the throne. So when she receives a summons from the Queen (aka her aunt), she doesn't think much of it. And then the Faerie Queen drops a bomb on her.
She's demoting Illumina ('cause there's a good possibility that she's a bit unhinged), and naming Anya as her successor. No more trips to the human territories for Anya! Yep, from here on out, it's Duty, Duty, Duty.
Yikes!
This news makes Mr. Wonderful happy, but it doesn't do much for Anya's spirits.
Wait, there's more!
The Queen has been told by the giant Redwood (it's a mythical tree spirit or something...just go with it.) that her life is going to end soon.
Ouch.
Now years ago, her half-human son Zabriel got tired of...well, let's just say things in the faerie realm weren't all sunshine and unicorns for him. Anyway, he left Chrior and went into hiding in the human world. But now the Queen is dying...and she wants to see her son one last time.
The Queen's decision to send 14 year old Illumina out into the Territories on a search for the long-lost prince shocks Anya into action. Illumina has never been to the human world before, and she's afraid the young girl might get hurt. She's not the most likable or even the most stable faerie, but she's still Anya's baby cousin. Besides, Anya's pretty sure that even if Illumina does somehow manage to find Prince Zabriel, she might not be able to convince him to return.
Why not, you ask?
Well, sometimes Illumina can come across as a bit creepy and unnerving.
Oh yeah. She also hates humans with a white-hot passion, thinks Zabriel is an abomination, and has a penchant for verbal diarrhea.
Soooo. Maybe not the best choice to bring him home?
And even though Anya doesn't want to admit it, deep down she would love for Zabriel to come back and take the burden of the throne off of her shoulders. So she convinces her fiancee to give her a 3 month head start before he tries to contact her (through their magical engagement bond), and then heads out after her young cousin. Consequences be damned!
And here's when things get interesting.
As soon as Anya crosses the Bloody Road (it's a kind of magical barrier that only allows magical beings to cross), she's attacked by Hunters. I can't give you the specifics, because it might be a bit spoilery, but she ends up really hurt. Fortunately, a human family finds her and nurses her back to health. Anya forms a tentative friendship with the oldest daughter, Shea. It turns out that the family has some secrets, and not the good kind...like where you're hiding the Christmas presents.
Shea's father did something a few years back that put them all on the government's shit-list. And in an effort to stay off the radar, the entire family is stuck living out in the middle of nowhere.
You have to admit, that would suck pretty hard for a teenage girl.
So when Anya is strong enough to leave, Shea packs up her stuff and hits the road with her.

Everything I've mentioned here happens early on in the book, 'cause I really don't want to give too much away.
But here's a short list of some of the cool stuff in the rest of the book:
Freaky ghost/boogeymen things that run around eating kids, big-time conspiracies everywhere, a pirate with a massive secret, and a huge I-Didn't-See-It-Coming betrayal at the end.
Speaking of the end, it had one of the best cliffhanger endings I've read in a while. Now I get that not everyone loves cliffhangers. But I'm of the opinion that if you're going to do it, you need to do it right. And this book did it right. Remember Moning's Fever series?
Seriously has anyone out there not read KMM's Fever series?
Barrons...
Hang on. Just give me a minute.
Ok. I'm back.
Remember the endings to those books? I would be reading frantically, thinking I had about 10 more pages left, and then BAM!!! the book was over. What?! Noooooo! If you've read those books, you know what I mean.
I see some of you are nodding your heads right now!
Well, Kluver managed to do a pretty good job re-creating that feeling for me at the end of The Queen's Choice. And while the rest of the book was good, it was really the ending that bumped it up to 4 stars for me. I honestly haven't been that impressed by a cliffhanger in a long time.
If you're in the market for YA fantasy, check this one out!

I received a digital arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review...in case you were wondering.

[summer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF Review

While reading The Queen's Choice, a recurring thought would implant itself in my brain every five seconds: "How was this even published?"

Yes, it was that intolerable. Not to say that the book was necessarily bad, I just cannot imagine someone who is a fan of fantasy enjoying this (i.e. me). There was far too much worldbuilding and little plot development. Up until the point I read, the book seemed like an extended version of traveling scenes in Graceling. In other words, it was needlessly long-winded.

I admit the writing was surprisingly good; however, the rest of the book's aspects just didn't cut it.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually rate books before I read them--in fact, I never have before--but honestly, Cayla Kluver has written my two favorite books, created one of my all-time favorite characters (London), and this book, quite simply, looks amazing.

I love fairies! My favorite author writing about them is like a dream come true! I can't wait to read it!

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having really enjoyed Cayla Kluver’s Legacy trilogy, I was really curious about The Queen’s Choice. Still, I was hesitant. Faeries aren’t really my fantasy creature of choice and it sounded like it would be a paranormal romance, which tends to end poorly for me quite often. That The Queen’s Choice surprised me is an understatement. This is fantasy, straight up and jam-packed with world building. Kluver’s The Queen’s Choice takes a long time to find its stride, but the shocking ending has me ready for more.

Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.

[Lynsey is Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting fantasy adventure.

Overall I enjoyed The Queen's Choice. I liked the world and the characters and the writing. It was, however, a book I found I could put down often to revisit later, rather than a real page-turner, which would be my preference. If it helps as a point of reference for you, this is exactly how I feel about the Harry Potter books. I can enjoy and appreciate them, but I can also put them down without any trouble whatsoever, and am constantly aware I'm reading a children's book (I've only read HP books 1-4, although I've heard the later books are more more mature in content). That said, when I was actually reading The Queen's Choice, it was entertaining. I definitely found that it didn't follow any of my preconceived ideas plot-wise, either. I felt sure there would be the obligatory romance that would dominate the later stages, but it didn't turn out that way at all, and even when there was a glimmer of romance, it came from an unsuspecting source. So definitely some surprises along the way, none more so than what happened to Anya in the first few chapters!

I think if there are people out there who, like myself, have looked at the cover of The Queen's Choice and thought it might be a new teen fantasy romance in the vein of Sara J. Maas or Kristin Cashore, they might be slightly underwhelmed by it. That's not simply because the romance was lacking, although for me, personally, that was a big part of it— even though I hate to make it sound like romance is the be all and end all of everything, when I know for some people the absence of that very thing will be its biggest selling point—but also because the plotting is quite gentle, with no big, flashy action scenes to speak of. I guess you could say Anya was fairly badass, especially in comparison to her travel partner, but she didn't really get a chance to showcase it in this book at all.

The main focus of the plot is a journey to find a missing Fae prince. Anya and her female companion carry the majority of the page time as they travel together via various means. There are, of course, other characters that crop up along the way, as well as some icky nasties that provide some necessary peril. And that's basically what it's about. Which explains, perhaps, why it's so easy to stop reading. The excitement level remained constant throughout, with very few ups and downs. You will hopefully find that the characters are enjoyable enough to negate that. I certainly enjoyed them. I'm just of the theory that I wasn't quite the right audience for this book (romance whore) as it read more middle grade than YA, but I can definitely see it entertaining younger readers and fans of straight fantasy adventure.

3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

That first chapter had me at the edge of my seat. I was ready for some action-packed, romance filled, excitement. Instead, what I got is a lot of travelling...and boredom..with only a few dashes of excitement. However, the ending ends with a bang, just like how the beginning of the story starts. Fingers crossed that the second book is better and more exciting.

What I didn't like about The Queen's Choice is the middle of it. With all the travelling and adventure going on, I wasn't expecting myself to doze off a few times yet I did. A lot. There's just too much of it, too much travelling and searching and whatnot. I found it boring after a while and I barely cared once they found Zabriel. It didn't help that the writing is extremely stiff and awkward at times.

The Queen's Choice has such a beautifully creepy beginning. It's captivating and awesome. I also loved the world building and how the faery world is described, it's mythical and enchanting and will definitely reel readers in. As far as main characters go, Anya is amazing. She's quite flawed and she doesn't give up despite the fact that she can never go home ever again. She's so strong and badass that I got excited whenever she's forced to fight. The beginning and the ending are both so creepy and exciting. I seriously cannot wait for the next book.

Although it does get extremely boring in the middle this is still a fun story and I really loved the beginning. It's an interesting take of the faery world and I can't wait to go back to it. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels, mythical creatures, and don't mind a lot of travelling.

[Lydia Presley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things that Cayla Kluver does extremely well is write a fun fantasy story that appeals to teenagers and adults alike. I feel in love with Cayla's strong female characters, interesting quest story lines, and fun world building first in her book Legacy, and I was sad when the trilogy ended. Imagine the sheer joy I felt when I saw that she was starting yet another series and, once again, I began to read and fell in love with The Queen's Choice.

Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on Jan. 16, 2014.

[Farrah]

Unfortunately, a DNF for me. There wasn't really a problem. I liked the characters and the idea for the story. I liked how vivid the descriptions were. But, I just couldn't get into it. I think this is more my problem that any problem with the book. It just wan't a good fit for me. Since I didn't finish, I won't rate it. But, it wasn't my kind of book :(

[Lynsey is Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting fantasy adventure.

Overall I enjoyed The Queen's Choice. I liked the world and the characters and the writing. It was, however, a book I found I could put down often to revisit later, rather than a real page-turner, which would be my preference.  If it helps as a point of reference for you, this is exactly how I feel about the Harry Potter books. I can enjoy and appreciate them, but I can also put them down without any trouble whatsoever, and am constantly aware I'm reading a children's book (I've only read HP books 1-4, although I've heard the later books are more more mature in content). That said, when I was actually reading The Queen's Choice, it was entertaining. I definitely found that it didn't follow any of my preconceived ideas plot-wise, either. I felt sure there would be the obligatory romance that would dominate the later stages, but it didn't turn out that way at all, and even when there was a glimmer of romance, it came from an unsuspecting source. So definitely some surprises along the way, none more so than what happened to Anya in the first few chapters!

I think if there are people out there who, like myself, have looked at the cover of The Queen's Choice and thought it might be a new teen fantasy romance in the vein of Sara J. Maas or Kristin Cashore, they might be slightly underwhelmed by it. That's not simply because the romance was lacking, although for me, personally, that was a big part of it— even though I hate to make it sound like romance is the be all and end all of everything, when I know for some people the absence of that very thing will be its biggest selling point—but also because the plotting is quite gentle, with no big, flashy action scenes to speak of. I guess you could say Anya was fairly badass, especially in comparison to her travel partner, but she didn't really get a chance to showcase it in this book at all.

The main focus of the plot is a journey to find a missing Fae prince. Anya and her female companion carry the majority of the page time as they travel together via various means. There are, of course, other characters that crop up along the way, as well as some icky nasties that provide some necessary peril. And that's basically what it's about. Which explains, perhaps, why it's so easy to stop reading. The excitement level remained constant throughout, with very few ups and downs. You will hopefully find that the characters are enjoyable enough to negate that. I certainly enjoyed them. I'm just of the theory that I wasn't quite the right audience for this book (romance whore) as it read more middle grade than YA, but I can definitely see it entertaining younger readers and fans of straight fantasy adventure.

3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Janus the Erudite Artist · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A long time ago...I'd thought that bravery could be attained with an open mind and heart, by pursuing and facing my demons. Now I considered that fearlessness was the luxury of the cloistered and blind, and that it was too late for me."

Characters. Anya is an incredible protagonist. She's the type of girl that no matter how many times you try to bring down will always be up on her feet, head held high and moving forward. She's strong and patient. I can't imagine how calm and collected she is throughout all the things she's been through, and still focused on her ultimate goal in finding the Prince. As for the others, I didn't put that much thought into them.

Love Interest. There isn't much of a romance within this book, although there is Anya's "fiancé" and another potential love interest, it was almost non existent since the better part of the book was focused on finding the Prince. But I have to say, Anya has a poor choice in picking her partner. I don't believe that a relationship would work if you don't support each other's passions. While I understand the fiancé's qualms over Anya's safety, I feel like he feels her curiosity with the humans is a nuisance he has to bear. Yeah, no!

Setting. If I commended Anya's character, I am at awe with the author's world building skills. With the way she described the places Anya travelled to and from, as well as the spin on the Faerie world, it feels like the only thing lacking is the actual smell of the place and readers are totally there. Superb job, Ms Cluver!

Plot. This book has an incredible mystery wrapped within and it was so intriguing that I had to keep reading. Although it takes a while to unravel, one can definitely see its potential.

Pacing. Ah, here's where it gets bad. The Queen's Choice started off so well that I couldn't put it down, but when I got to the middle part there was so much traveling and not much else happening that it eventually got too boring. But as I said earlier, the mystery was very intriguing that I sucked it up and went through all the nonsensical stuff. And when I reached the end... BOOM! What a cliffhanger!

Verdict. Let's see... How do I best describe The Queen's Choice? Sssslooooooowww... Man, was it a drag! The good parts were definitely the start and end. If you have the patience to go through the middle parts you'll surely want to read the next book by the time you finish this one.

*Thank you, Harlequin Teen, and NetGalley for granting my request to view The Queen's Choice.

For more of my reviews, please visit my blog:
The Blair Book Project @ www.theblairbookproject.blogspot.com

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Cayla Kluver’s Legacy series and I love books about faeries, so I had high hopes going into this one and fortunately I wasn’t disappointed! There is just so much that happens in this series it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll start off with the plot.

Since this is a fantasy novel, we have a lot of learning to do about the world were in. I almost want to describe it as a post-apocalyptic faerie novel, but that isn’t really accurate. There was a large, devastating war between the Fey and humans, but this book doesn’t take place in anything resembling the modern world. Regardless, the setting was very intricate. The faerie realm sounded just beautiful, as one would expect, and kind of made me think of Tinkerbell’s hollow. Much of the human world was kind of seedy (or at least the parts we saw due to Anya’s situation), but it provided the perfect backdrop for the story.

Since we’re following the royal faerie family here, you know there will be a lot of political intrigue. This is the part of the story that really stands out to me. The back stabbing, the betrayal, the mystery, and the cliff hangers! I just could not get enough. I wish the second book was out, so I could pick it up immediately! And the characters were all done so well that they really helped bring the story to life. I feel like I know Anya, and the rest of the characters and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them!

The Queen’s Choice is a fantastic start to a series and moves Cayla Kluver into my favorite author category. If your a fantasy fan or also love faeries, this one is absolutely a must read!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Genre* Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5

*My Thoughts*

Holy double betrayal Batman! Damn that ending and Kluver for giving readers just enough information to leave them breathless! Damn having to wait until Hades knows when before the next book in the series is released to find out what Anya will do next. Right now I have several different emotions going through my head. The first one is that Anya didn't deserve any of the shit that was laid at her feet regardless of the situation, or the persons upbringing and past, or the fact that they caused irrevocable harm to Anya's sanity and future by ripping away her wings and leaving her pretty much humanized. My second emotion is that I hope that Anya doesn't waddle into the waters of a 3-way love triangle now that a new player has come into her life.

The Queen's Choice focuses on Sixteen year old Anya, daughter of the Lord of the Law, and betrothed to Fire Fae Davic. The world laid out for readers by Kluver is one in which humans and Fae leaders are trying hard to maintain a peaceful existence after an extremely bloody war left a boundary called the Bloody Road separating humans from Fae and any human attempting to cross over into Faerie, dies. It is a place where Fae go on a Crossing, which is really like the Amish's version of Rumspringa. It is a chance for Fae to discover a whole new world outside of their own and make the choice whether or not to stay in Chrior, or live among the humans.

Anya is a traveler at heart. She loves exploring the human realm of Warckum, and has done so since she was Fourteen. As a member of the Redwood Fae Royalty, she also has responsibilities that come into play after the Queen's choice of announcing a surprising heir to her crown who just happens to be Anya, and not her cousin Illumina who was raised to HATE humans with a passion. There are also rumblings about missing Fae who have gone on the Crossing, but never returned, including Anya's friend Evangeline.

The Queen's Choice is a dark story filled with hardships, trying situations, betrayals from those you would expect better from, and a heroine in Anya who while determined, and gutsy even without her ability to use her Fae abilities as a Water Fae, also makes some head shaking mistakes in her actions, and who she trusts. There IS a bit of romance involved, but at its core, The Queen's Choice is a high fantasy novel that is built upon a world building that saves it from being lacking in quality and depth when it comes to the characters involved. Even though Anya's near future seems dark, there's a long way to go before we get to the ending.

*recvd 12/03/2013 via Netgalley* Expected publication: January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen

[Anika Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's taken me ages to get through this one, not because it wasn't enjoyable but entirely because its really hard to read a paperback with a one-month-old baby xD I really enjoyed this story but it ended on a less-than-dramatic cliffhanger.

Full review:
Anya is a member of the Faerie royal family of Chrior, a kingdom cut off from the human world. After being named as the heir to the kingdom, Anya decides to leave behind her safe haven and travel into the human lands to find her cousins, both of whom have gone missing. Her journey seems doomed from the start when she encounters a terrible threat as soon as she leaves Chrior – Fae Hunters.

Often dark, this story is essentially about a long journey in which Anya is not only searching for her cousins, but for her own identity and place in the world. Anya and her companions essentially travel from one captivity to the next, thinking they are being secretive but really being rather obvious. There are a lot of details in descriptions and the journeying itself which does slow the pace a lot. I’m fairly sure it could have been told in a lot less than the 500 pages it ended up with!

Despite its length, this is a very well-written story with great action sequences and some very interesting characters – for example, the dark, tortured Illumina and the sassy Shea. There were quite a few characters that had excellent grey alignments – you’re never quite sure who’s side they’re on. I enjoyed reading about all them even if Anya did spend a lot of the book feeling terribly sorry for herself (and who wouldn’t, in her situation?).

Overall, this story reminded me of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling – kick-arse ladies, arduous journeys and interesting magic systems. There are plenty of questions still to be answered at the end of this first book. What was Shea’s father making that caused him to be outlawed? What happened to Zabriel during his exile? And Illumina… well, spoilers. I’ll be looking forward to the next book!

This review was originally posted on Tea in the Treetops blog in February 2014.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin TEEN and Netgalley.)
Anya is a faerie, and her auntie the queen. Her cousin Illumina is unfit to be next in line for the throne, and her cousin Zabriel is missing.
When her aunt confides in her that she is dying, and that she wants her to take the throne when she dies, Anya knows that she must journey to the human world to try and find her half-fae, half human cousin Zabriel.
Where is Zabriel? And can Anya find him before her aunt dies?


This book started off strong, but I lost interest a bit in the middle. The ending was quite interesting though.

I liked Anya, and I liked her strength. I liked how she both did what she wanted, and thought of those around her, she certainly did have a bit of a weak spot when it came to her boyfriend. She did surprise me at times though, firstly when she wasn’t all that grateful for a gift she was given, and secondly when she admitted that she wouldn’t have been sad over the death of a fairly close relative. I did like her overall, but I also got tired of her.

I liked the storyline, and I really felt sorry for Anya after what happened to her. The story started to drag from the mid-point really though, and I just ended up wondering if it was ever going to end. The part of the storyline concerning Zabriel was probably the worst part of the story, as it seemed like they were never going to find him.
Thankfully the story picked up at the end, and I did end this story wanting to know what happened in the next book. More than anything though I decided that this story was a bit slow, and I wondered whether everything in this really needed to be in there. I thought that more could have been achieved in the 500+ pages than actually happened, and am now kind of aggrieved that I have to wait for the next book to find out what happens.
Overall; I liked the story, but did find it slow in places.
8 out of 10.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit sceptical when I received this book, as it didn't seem as interesting as the others that I had, however I was wrong.
My expectations were quite off, as right now I am in pain because I really want to read the sequel!
Reasons I enjoyed the book:
- A very original plot. I've said this a few times, but I think that this may be the only time I actually mean it. I would never have thought of this plot, and so much planning must have gone into this, as there is so much detail in a topic that is barely written about.
- The characters. They are REAL. I mean it. One character (I won't name him/her) is so realistic that they do something unpredictable, like most humans do, and betray someone close to them. I think the genuine portrayal of how some people come to realise that right and wrong isn't as black and white as they would like, however this just contributes to me (and most likely others) being able to relate to characters.
- The book was very well written. I have nothing else to say on this point.
- Emotional. This book was very good at making the reader feel sympathy, sadness, happiness, guilt, every emotion, without coming across to strong. It just felt natural, and the emotional aspect was genuine.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the book as it was great, and I don't actually have an adjective that will do the book justice.
However, the only thing stopping me from giving 5 stars was the lack of oomph. The book was undeniably great and worthy of 4 stars, however I don't feel like it is quite up to 5 stars yet.

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/05/t...
The Queen's Choice isn't my usual read, I tend not to delve into Fantasy books featuring faires, or Fae as they're known, but I quite enjoyed this one. More adventure than fantasy, it tells the story of Anya who although lives within the hidden forest, she wants nothing more than to travel to human settlements, much to the annoyance of her father who wants to keep her safe and her beloved Davic, who is happy to settle in the Redwood and begin their lives together. He's just one of many who choose to hide from the real world, with Hunters looking for the highly sort after Fae wings.

But the storyline dragged on a little too much, with several chapters falling flat which probably could have been condensed. At five hundred pages, unless you dint mind lengthy sagas, it might become a little tedious. Overall, I really enjoyed it, but it lacked emotion. I felt disconnected to the majority of the characters, apart from mortal Shea who Anya befriends. Although she's more drunken harlot than responsible travelling companion at times. If you're looking for an epic fantasy, this isn't it, but a slow world building action adventure, then give it a go.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It wasn't your average faerie book and I really liked the narrative style. The ending was great and I loved Zabriel as a character (Though I have a soft spot for all bad boys). The ending got me as well, although I kinda saw it coming. The only thing I didn't like was the romance, but that's to be expected in YA. It's also pretty light, so I wasn't too bothered. For 16, Anya is very mature but I guess it's because of her upbringing. Definitely excited for the second installment!

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't amazing, but I liked it.

More of a review to come soon.

[Angela]

28 January 2016: $1.99 on Kindle

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long novel. And some parts still seemed like they were too rushed. Others were definitely too long. So, yes, I guess I had a problem with the pacing, something I'm not sure I have ever written before.
But it was very clear in this novel. There were many problems and I am having problems with giving it a star rating on the sites that require stars because it really falls between stars. I'll explain.

Characters-
Anya- The Queen's niece. A faerie, water elemental. Bonded to Davic who she describes as "solid and predictable, like a form of gravity." Not quite a heartpounding romantic sentiment. Nonetheless she loves him. As I read the story from her point of view, trying to illicit some form of attachment to her, I kept reminding myself that Anya was a royal, a faerie and often they have been portrayed as remote, distant, unfeeling. So keeping that in mind, I was able to read this 500 page book. Anya has a horrible experience, right from the start of her journey, one that she shouldn't have been taking in the first place, one taken for selfish reasons and she pays the highest of consequences. Her motives are selfish yet she rationalizes that they are not. And despite the fact that she has ventured into the human world quite often, she doesn't listen to that "faerie sense" inside of her that tells her there is something wrong.

Shea- Becomes acquainted with Anya when Anya needs medial assistance. Her family takes Anya in and dresses her wounds. They are helping her heal. They are also well aware of faeries so they aren't surprised at what Anya is. The most remarkable thing about Shea is that she is brave enough or just reckless enough to want to depart with Anya when she leaves to search the cities for her cousins. Shea is around the same age of Anya but is very inexperienced in the world. Yet, Shea is allowed to go with Anya. Well, not so much allowed as she threatens to go on her own if she isn't allowed. Reading the size of her father and his countenance, she is brave.

Illumina- First in line for the crown in Chrior, but passed over because of her age, 14, and her weird predilections for carving phrases into her skin and her anti human prejudices. The crown is pro human/faerie rights. Illumina would have another war with the humans an wipe them out of she could.

Zabriel- The Queen's half human/half fae son who ran off at 15 to the human world, shunning his responsibilities to the Fae World of Chrior. Zabriel has no elemental connection, that is he is not earth, air, fire or water spirit. He does have wings. But some of the Fae would refuse to follow him b/c he was not full fae, others loved him. He had a falling out with his mother the Queen after secrets she kept from him came out. He would have been the ruler of Chrior if he hadn't run.

The World- Chrior is nicely described. It sounds like a utopia of sorts. Only darker elements do show up. In flashbacks from Anya. Faeries live in nooks in the great Redwood tree or in the woods just beyond the Blood Road. There is a lot of confusion in the beginning. Someone has been killed or died before he ever sat on the throne. Someone else was banished. There is something going on at court as the story starts and Anya is flying in from the Blood Road. There is the Queen on her throne and all the royal seats surrounding her, many vacant. I couldn't figure out why. I didn't know who anyone was or belonged to. So there is confusion and it is cleared up, but it's like a pebble in a dryer that keeps going around and around, making so much noise that the idea never lets me keep my mind on the story until I could figure out what was going on with the thrones. Thankfully it didn't take too long.

There isn't a lot of information on the human and fae war. The one that caused the fae to create the Blood Road that keeps the Humans away from the Fae. There are certain anti-human factions within the fae that would have all the humans destroyed. There are humans that would see all the fae destroyed. Presumably, that is what the first war was about. But really, we aren't allowed any information about it.

The human world is unique. There is no electricity. No plumbing. Travel is done by foot, horse or boat. The fae fly of course. There are strict laws and debts to be paid. There are wealthy and poor and all manner of people between. Soup kitchens, halfway houses and drug dens. Pirates, traitors, spies. A varying array of people and places. And at the head of it all is the Governor. But we only meet his son who is taking care of business in his stead as the Governor is ill.

Setting- It seems to be in the past, any time but no time specific. There is strict security, border guards. To travel one must have papers. The Fae are known to have forged documents. Tension seems to be higher than usual in the human world, more guards are out and about. Children are disappearing. Fae are also disappearing. Mythological creatures seem to be on the prowl. In the Fae World, anti-Human demonstrations abound. Many fae disregard the Queen's pro-human leanings and lead protests and marches against the humans. Fae are disappearing as well. Or showing up with their wings cut off, their source of magic removed. It prevents them from going home, from crossing the Blood Road.

My Take- One thing I absolutely loved about this story was that the two main characters were Anya and Shea. Two female main characters on a quest! Yes, without nary a man in sight. In fact, Anya's intended, Davic, seems to be a bit afraid of even going out to the human world. So Anya is the one that goes out seeking Zabriel. And then Shea goes with her. The two are complimentary to each other, they show each other the way when the other strays, they are wisdom when the other is not, they hold each other up. I don't recall any other book where the two women were such great friends and so accomplished at their quest. For Shea, it doesn't matter where they are going as long as it's away from where she is now. For Anya, she figures it can't hurt to have a human along with her. Though the two get into a lot of trouble and Anya isn't exactly forthcoming about why she is there or rather who she is there for, they look out for each other and make a great pair. Their combined talents get them out of all kinds of sticky situations.
I very much love that it is two young women that don't need men to get them where they need to go.

So it's got that going for it, which is very good. And the story itself, it's very good. I love the story line. Great plot, great subplots. And I think they are carried out very well. So what is my problem with the story?

As I said, the pacing is off. Anya is hurt badly yet is up and around in three days. It doesn't make sense to me with such a terrible wound. Time spent in some places seems to be endless and unnecessary. In others, it seems to go too fast. The writing is good, descriptive and engaging. Of course, the ending was predictable, at least that something was going to happen. How could it not, it was a trilogy and it was the obvious choice. But I don't think it was the wrong choice or poorly done. And so now, as I write this, I am seeing that the pacing is the worst problem I had with it. And so now, I'm thinking, given some time away from the story, that I actually liked it more than I thought I did at first. The characters have stayed with me. The ending, though heartbreaking, left me wanting to know what would happen going forward. I felt Anya didn't listen to her better sense towards the end of the novel. But then, we all question ourselves and shut our inner voice up bowing to the voices of others at times. I can't expect more from my characters than I do myself.

So pacing aside, an original story with intelligent, more than capable female main characters, sharing a camaraderie for adventure and freedom. Faeries and humans, working together and against each other, showing prejudice at work and the evils it perpetrates in a highly creative way. I'd recommend this one. And I will read the next one in the series. I think a few less pages might help, but I never considered not finishing it. I think if you enjoy faeries, conflict, spies, court intrigue, politics and betrayals, along with some humor and a little romance, I think you'll find this an entertaining story.

Thanks to the publishers for a copy of the novel for review. This did not affect my review in any way. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[mybooks.myshelf.and.I · Rating 3 out of 5]

NO SPOILER review time <3

**Note: this book has several trigger warning. here are the ones I found but there might be more so I suggest you look all of them up before reading the book: tw/ suicide, self-harm, death, murder etc.

Review!!!

pros: I'm going to start with all the things I enjoyed about this book. so, the characters were nice. i liked the main character, one of the main character's love interest, and Prince Zabriel a little. I didn't really like all of them, you can read the cons section for more on that. however, the main idea is pretty cool. I love reading books about Fae, and Kluver's world of Fae was pretty interesting. I liked the world the whole concept of this book was great. It was a heavy, interesting read that I needed at the time. but I think my favourite thing about this book was the writing. the word-building and writing style was really spellbinding and enchanting. it drew me in from the very start. I loved all the descriptions a lot, and I picked up several quotes I liked.

cons: although the book was pretty great, there were some things that I did not like. One thing that majorly impacted my view of this book is the plot. It seems as though there was no plot whatsoever. It didn't make it confusing to follow or read, but it felt as if something was off the whole time. it seems as if there was no plotline, and I couldn't figure out when and where the climax or aftermath was. it was sort of all over the place. it seemed like things went haywire from the start. So many bad things befell the main character, it felt like there was nothing good that actually happend to her. And it seems as though there will be even worse things happening to her in the next book. (i also get the vibe that one of her love intrests will turn on her, just a hunch. and she'll end up with the other guy, who seems a bit better suited for her not gonna lie) something I also didn't like it that some of the characters seemed to be simllar in terms of personalities to one another and it felt like there was hardly any dymnanic between them.

overall, this was a nice, interesting read that flowed really well together!(tho there are some cons) I will def be reading the sequel when and once I get it! I def recommend this for Fae-lovers! <3

[Ashley W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book years ago from Netgalley and never got into it. I think I had a feeling about it then.
I found it difficult to even care about the story or characters and found myself having to repeat pages because I zoned out- mostly during the middle. Just a lot of wandering into new trouble for Anya and Shae (who majorly got on my nerves by then). Honestly, Anya just seems to have a savior complex and just wants to judge everyone, regardless of whether they are actually right or wrong. She just thinks she knows best for everyone and it really put me off her- pretty much since she left to take over Illumina's task. She wants to 'save' everyone, mostly from themselves. And when I didn't care about her- the protag, I didn't care about any of it. Didn't care who betrayed her or lied to her or any of it. Turn them in. Whatever. It was tedious and long and I think it would have been better if a couple hundred pages had been removed.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally posted on Bibliophilia, Please :

I loved the concept of the world in The Queen's Choice . The human world and the faerie world are divided by a “bloody road” that apparently only the fae may cross. The division between the world and the prejudices against the humans and faes was also very interesting. Some of the characteristics of the fae seemed very arbitrary (like how faeries only have magic if they have wings), but this is a fantasy novel, so I was willing to overlook it. I do wish that we would have had more of the fae world described, especially considering that the human world is hyper-described.

My main problems with The Queen's Choice were the pacing and the characters. The beginning of the book was sort of slow and confusing. I was really confused in the first couple of chapters, but eventually the world building settled in and I understood what sort of world the book was set in. The pacing of the book never quite picked up though. I was shocked about something that happened to Anya early on in the book. I was not expecting it, and I kept wanting it to be fixed (which I’m sure couldn’t happen). But other than that, I was about 60% through the book before the plot began progressing again. Most of the middle of the book could have been removed and it would have been a much better book. A lot of action happens in the last 10% of the book, including a betrayal and a cliffhanger ending.

Anya seems selfish and immature. Instead of accepting responsibility and leading her people, she runs away from the problem. Not only does she run away, she tries to sneak away in the night without telling anyone where she is going. Whenever she gains a traveling partner, she remains concerned with her own issues instead of taking her partner into consideration. She mostly makes decisions based on how the outcome will affect herself rather than affecting the fae world, the relationship between the worlds, or other individuals.

While we meet a lot of the fae, we don’t really get to know a lot of them. The fae characters who receive the most attention are Illumina, Anya, Prince Zabriel, and to a lesser degree, Davic. Illumina and Zabriel seem like compelling characters, from what we see, and I wish that the reader would have been given more information about them. For a such a lengthy book, there was too much of a concentration on Anya, her travels and the city, rather than the truly interesting aspects.

The Queen's Choice contains a hint of a romance, but the romance is actually a love triangle which I always hate. It is not really that much of an annoyance because the romance is not huge part of the book though. Neither of the male characters of the love triangle are that compelling. Davic is Anya’s “promised” which is basically her betrothed. From what little I know of him, I did not care for him much. He was suffocating and controlling in his relationship with Anya. We only see snippets of the human love interest, but he seems like an honorable man from what we see. This may become a larger issue in the later books, but I wish it would not.

By far, the best part of the novel was the writing. It was lyrical and smooth. Although it took me a really long time to read the novel, I enjoyed the novel while I was reading it. However, the book was easy to put down, and harder to pick up. While the writing was beautiful, a lot of the writing was overly detailed and descriptive.

I am not sure if I will continue in this series, even with the cliffhanger ending. I will, however, be picking up Cluver’s Legacy series. I enjoyed her writing style and hope that a different setting will pique my interest more.

2.5/5 stars

To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Magirosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall:

Although I have more items resting on the Didn’t Like side of the balance, they are fairly mild. This was an enjoyable book and I plan to read the sequel.

Things I Like:

Nuanced Characters: I appreciate the depth of effort that the authors has gone to create nuanced characters. Almost every character is suspect in some kind of double dealing. Anya, and by extension the reader, is constantly evaluating behavior and narrative for possible betrayal. And if not outright betrayal, at the very least characters have multiple motivations that might lead them to choose one avenue over another. Even Anya is unsettled. Does she wish to stay in the Realm? Does she wish to be Queen? Her complex motivations lead her down the path the opens the narrative and they continue to blur. I appreciate this depth built into the characterization.

Writing: Kulver has a beautiful way with words. There were several moments in the book where I stopped to appreciate an insightful piece of dialog or a lyrical turn of phrase.
Ending: there were several surprises packed into the end. Well done.

Things I Don’t Like:

Young age of the main characters: This is an example of a book where the characters could easily and indeed should be older. I liked the way the author has created a type of Rumspringa for faeries, and for that reason their age makes good sense. However, I have a hard time believing that a race like Faeries would need to have a ruler so young. And that indeed all three candidates for the succession are in their teens. Something about this bothered me throughout. Perhaps this is unfair, sense this book is clearly being marketed as a YA and indeed the author specializes in writing books for YA. Still, I think that this would have been a much stronger book with older protagonists.

Illuminata: Illuminata’s character is one of the reasons I have a hard time with the age of the characters. She is only 14 and yet Anya is constantly talking about her young cousin’s political rhetoric and judging her behaviors and actions as though she is an adult. At 12 she loses her abusive father to banishment after he has tried to kill her cousin. And at 14 she is supposed to be settled in her character and beliefs to be deemed unworthy of the crown and indeed even her own life. This seems so harsh, especially since there are no real examples of why these harsh judgments are deserved. The fact that she cuts herself is not a reason to believe her a political mover and shaker who can turn the realm from peace into war, or even that she would desire it. Sigh. Simply put, I felt as a reader that we were supposed to treat her like a known threat even though there was no evidence beyond Anya referring to her as such.

Wings: This is petty and not really a valid complaint, but I almost stopped reading when I realized that Anya and by extension all Faerie had wings. This called to mind every annoying Fairy princess marketed to girls at Christmas, pretty with no power. I realize that this isn’t the case with these characters and I am glad that I continued reading, but I will admit that I had to forcefully put that other image out of my mind, otherwise these characters became like Tinker Bell in my mind.

Flashbacks: What to say? They seemed unnecessary as they didn’t seem to add anything to the plot or to characterizations.

[Brianna bribookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review on Brianna's Bookish Confessions.

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Harlequin Teen. It does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Anya is a 16 year old faerie who is related to the Queen of Chrior– Ubiqua and is betrothed to Davic. Entering the human world is a danger zone. If a human sees you, you’ll be lucky they kill you on spot. Humans and Faeries are not on good terms.

Queen Ubiqua is dying and is seeking her son whom is not in the kingdom but in the human world. He’s next to the throne and Ubiqua wants to see him one last time. She sends Illumina, Anya’s younger cousin, out to the human world in search of Zabriel. Anya knows Illumina won’t survive in the human world and decides to leave the kingdom to find Zabriel herself. Well, that probably wasn’t a good decision.

Anya must now figure out who she is with having no connection to the kingdom since she is now in the human world. Find Zabriel- wherever he is in the world, convince him to come back, and survive this whole trip. Can she do it? What will she risk doing this?

My Thoughts:

I’m the worst book blogger ever.. I received this book back in like November… And I’m reviewing this late. I’m terrible! I know, I’m terrible… But to my defense, the cover says February not January. And other books were screaming at me… Guys, I’m sorry! I know.. I’m a disappointment! Okay, enough.

I really did like this book, but there were some things that bothered me while reading which I’ll get to in a minute. I haven’t read many– if any– fairy books. So it was nice to start with this. It wasn’t too overpowering and too unrealistic. The world building was hard to understand at first, but once I understood, I really enjoyed the world!

Cayla Kruver’s writing style is somewhat poetic, especially in the beginning. It’s the way she describes the story. It makes it feel poetic-y. Does that make sense?

I loved Anya’s character- she’s strong, brave, and very quick on her toes. (I feel like I always give the same characteristics to the main characters, but it’s true!) After everything that has happened, she can still hold her head up high and still move on with her life.

I liked the fact that there was a relationship right off the bat. Normally, the 2 main characters meet then fall in love. Well, Anya and Davic are already in love when the book starts. It was nice to have a relationship already made. But, however, their isn’t much romance in the book at all. Which is not a bad thing, I actually like when not all books are centered around the relationship. It’s refreshing.

I didn’t like how long the book was. Some parts (in my opinion) weren’t needed. The story dragged on at some parts and I would find myself trying to read faster so I can get over some parts. The book definitely could have been a lot shorter. I did also find some parts were very predictable. The second it was hinted, I figured it out 20 pages before Anya figured it out.

The ending was good, but it was somewhat predictable. I definitely will continue on with the series because there were some things that weren’t solved and I’m curious to see what happens.

[Hannah (Hannah, Fully) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queen's Choice may not be my favorite faery book (it's far from being my favorite, but I didn't actually hate it), but it's definitely about time someone wrote about fairies in an entirely different way other than the usual summer and winter fairies.

Kluver has all the good things to write a fantastic book – the world building is interesting, the characters are complex (for the most part), and her writing style is interesting enough that it somehow managed to keep my attention with the whopping 500 pages it has (for the most part).

On the fabulous elaborations of "for the most part," Anya and her companion (Shea, for the most part) probably spent approximately 300+ pages walking, getting attacked, and avoiding the Constabularies of the Warckum Territory. Then the cycle pretty much repeats itself – no particular pattern. Anya spent approximately 100+ pages being healed before all of that walking, attacking, and avoiding began – perhaps I'll even call it WAA for the fun of it all – does it sound appealing? Probably not.

But somehow, in some way, Kluver managed to keep my attention, despite the fact I don't really "connect" to her writing. Maybe it's the writing style (eh... not really), or perhaps the complexity of her minor characters (Illumina and Shea are certainly complex enough that they're not entirely predictable). Maybe it's just the entire idea behind the book in the first place, though that part is most likely not true.

And then there's Anya. Anya the main character, Anya the Royal Faery of Chrior, and maybe Anya the Hopeless. Anya seems a little stereotypical – or perhaps, more accurately, Anya simply makes quite a few assumptions sometimes that may be hilarious to a little human like me. Certainly not as hilarious as Of Mice and Men, to which I make fun of the book the entire time I'm reading it just so I'm not bored. It's no wonder why I'm called the sarcastic one among my circle of friends.

"Now, how do I get on this thing?" she asked, taking the reins to her mount from me.
"You don't know?"
"Nope. Not the slightest idea."
"I thought all humans knew how to ride horses."

You know, for a nonhuman who seems to visit the human world as often as possible, you would sort of expect them to not assume all humans can ride horses. Really, I'm not terribly sure how one can be born with a talent like riding horses. Though, oddly enough, that's probably possible. The person would then have to nurture it. But really, humans are not centaurs. For one to be a centaur, we're missing a horse's ass. Pardon my language (and the grotesque image coming soon), but no horse – and certainly no human – would appreciate being cut in half and glued together to become a centaur.

Grotesque image and crude comments aside, Kluver puts us at a sort of a cliffhanger with something Anya discovers about Illumina in the last couple pages in the book. Much as I'm interested in the sequel, I'm not terribly sure I want to continue reading about Anya walking and traveling constantly (and avoiding and being attacked).

This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A love triangle that makes sense, pirates, faeries, and great world building. Only complaint is that it was a bit of a slow read and then ended with a cliffhanger - grr!

The Queen's Choice is the first in a new series featuring faeries, romance and political intrigue. Anya is one of three cousins that may inherit the throne to Chrior, the faerie land separated from the human world by the Bloody Road. Only faeries can cross the road, as a huge bloody battle left its mark between the two species. When Anya finds out that her aunt and Queen of the Faeries has foreseen her death closing in, she is asked to take the throne. Anya is not the type of spirit that wants to be held to a throne and revels in her journeys to and from the human world. She accepts but when her unstable cousin Illumina, scarred by a horrible childhood is tasked with finding the missing, half human Prince to see his mother one last time, Anya cannot sit still.

Anya herself takes off into the human world only to have her wings severed from her body by human hunters and left for dead. A human family living deep in the forest finds her and takes her into their home to recover. There's something off about this family as they are very secretive, especially the father. They are living in hiding, having wronged the King of their land and if any of their family is found, they will have to serve their father's sentence. So when Shea, the oldest daughter stubbornly decides to leave with Anya to continue her quest, it's a bit rocky. The pair leaves on an adventure to find the Prince, Anya's cousin Illumina and find many more adventures on their path.

Although it took me a long time to read through to the end of the book, I found myself really enjoying the world that Kluver has built. Anya is a great female character in that she knows herself and her own desires. She leaves her beloved at home often and although she feels her love for him, she more strongly feels the urge of travel and adventure. Even after the loss of her wings, Anya despaired, but set to moving forward and completing her journey. I also loved Shea and honestly all of the characters in this book were so beautifully crafted. Each with their own weaknesses and strengths, making a cast that is very memorable.

My only complaint about this book is the ups and downs of the excitement. I felt at times the journey overly hashed out and could have been pushed forward a little faster. In turn, I think the extra time spent really gave an interaction between characters I may have missed otherwise. I'm on the fence about it. Overall, I really felt it was a long read and dragged at some parts, but the action and great characters really made up for that at the same time. The killer really was the twist at the end of the book, that I thought I saw coming but yet still surprised me.

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[Ruthsic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined

Firstly I would like to mention that I really wish I had an entire day off just to read this book in it's entirety. I didn't notice the page count when I started it and was struggling through the week to find time in between to read it. Sleepless nights ensued and the point I am making her is that it was such a great book that I was irritated with my life getting in the way of reading this.

The plot rests on the fragile peace built between the Fae and the humans, both races living across a cursed barrier which stops the entry of humans into the Fae territory. Both the races are prejudiced against each other and tensions run high, even though officially they have called truce. But discreetly, powerful people on both sides are jeopardizing this peace. Stuck in this dangerous world in a dangerous position is Anya, a simple royal fairy who sets out to find her realm's lost prince and bring him back.

She is attacked when she starts her journey, and her attack brings with it a realization of the world around her in finer detail. Even though she is empathic and kind, she hadn't yet seen the horrors that could be committed by people. Her plan is not solid, and her companion is with her in search for adventure, which they do get. The plot hides a bigger conspiracy between the lines, a fact that comes out only at the end of the novel in a delicious twist.

The writing was descriptive but kept good pace with the story. It highlighted on each characters' personalities in good detail, giving you ample of fodder to ponder about. There are quite a lot of untold stories behind some of the characters, and enrich the book even when not really there. The bigotry and hate are portrayed against the different values each of the races hold. Even the Fae are not as peace-loving as they seem and neither are the humans as evil as the Fae make them out to be. Anya, in a position where she can finally see both sides of the story, gives an interesting perspective to read through. I would recommend this novel for fantasy-lovers as well as those new to fantasy - it is a delightful read, not too heavy but has plenty of depth.

Received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fae Queen is dying and wants her sixteen year old niece, Anya, to be her successor. Ruling her people is not something Anya thought she would be doing and instead decides to venture into Human lands and find her wayward cousin, the Queen’s half-human half-fae son and true heir to the Chrior throne, Prince Zabriel. Misfortune favours Anya as she journeys through the human realm of Warchum but she needs to complete her self-appointed mission before it’s too late for the Queen and her son to reconcile.

Anya is a very interdependent and strong young woman. Having to face horrors with an alarming frequency but somehow she manages to emerge slightly damaged but still with a fighting spirit. She’s gone though so much and despite having lost so much somehow she has even more taken from her. She does tend to feel sorry for herself at times and whilst it’s entrely understandable, it doesn’t make her the most enjoyable character to read. This story really gets going once Anya meets Shea. Shea is every bit as strong as Anya but without the street smarts and a little more naive about the darkness of human (and fae) nature. The camaraderie between the two was a pleasure to read and I loved how they supported each other.

There is a lot going on in this book. A gorgeous pirate and his mischievous crew, faeries with an innate connection to the elements, political unease between the Fae and Humans, an adventure and a quest and a lot of hidden motives. And I enjoyed reading Anya’s journey throughout the Human realm. However I almost didn’t finish this book. I was a hundred pages in and I didn’t feel a connection to the characters and found the book to be a little convoluted and monotonous. The writing is very descriptive but a little long-winded. This book would have benefited from being a little more direct and to the point. I’m so glad that I didn’t give up because after the first 20% this book is great. It’s still a little slow at times but the characters Anya meets on the way and the way events play out were well worth it. One thing that surprised me was how much I enjoyed the romance – or lack there of. Anya is betrothed to a lovely young fae man but it doesn’t overwhelm the story. This is not just a book about a girl choosing the man she wants to be with. It’s about so much more. Duty to one’s people and family. Risking everything to do what you believe is right. And to never give up no matter what hardships have been bestowed upon you.

I’ve not read a Cayla Kluver novel before but I am delighted to have finished the Queen’s Choice. There are twists I didn’t see coming and have me eagerly anticipating the next books in the series. I have so many questions but they are the good kind of questions where I can’t wait to see just where Kluver is going to take Anya, Zabriel and the unrest between the two realms next.