'The Queen has come with her crown to claim her throne, but will she reign alone or with her Prince-turned-King? Eva Winners conquers the bookish world with this next instalment! - The British Bibliophile
Thank you to Eva Winners for sending me an ebook Advanced Readers Copy to read and leave an honest review as part of her ARC/Promo team
NOTE - This review won't contain any spoilers but will make reference to elements within the blurb so if you wish to go into this second of three books in the series without knowing what happens next, please turn away from my review...now :)
Unforgiving Queen is the second of three books in Eva Winners' 'Stolen Empire' series. Each book follows on from the next and is about the same set of main characters--with rotating supporting characters--, so I would strongly advise that they be read in order for the complete timeline of events. Otherwise things will be all over the place.
For a true experience of each book and as a personal recommendation, please don't wait until all three books have been published until you get to know Amon and Reina. I know it's tempting to wait so you can back-to-back read, but these cliffhangers are so good (and I'm not usually a cliffhanger fan), you'll want to have that on-the-edge-of-your-seat feeling until the next book. It's one hundred per-cent worth it! I'm still holding my breath and I am so looking forward to the third and final book in this trilogy series.
Unforgiving Queen picks up (almost) where book one, Bitter Prince left off. With the exception with a few throwback chapters which filled in a few blanks from said first book. It's not long before we're back in the present with Amon, Dante and Reina and where things lay teetering on the edge with a situation quite literally hanging between life and death. Things could shift either way, but both Leone brothers are set on saving Amon's fallen Queen.
What was once supposed to be love from afar soon turned into sweet, forbidden romance. The blossoming romance between Amon and Reina has been at this point, years in the making, and reaches a point where it looks like the Princess will finally get her Prince. Cue a spectacular spanner in the works and a halt on their Happily Ever After. There's more to face and overcome before turning the page to said Happily Ever After but this time, two paths must be walked alone before at last they're merged back into one. But will they both make it to the merge point and face their future together? You shall soon see.
Ultimately this instalment injects plenty of action, adventure, angst and more into what would otherwise be the 'saggy middle bit' of a trilogy. Eva's brilliant writing elevates that straight away with what she's included here for Reina, Phoenix, Dante, Amon and the gang. The fact that I polished this off within 24 hours is a testament to that and then some. There was so much packed into this--and Eva's novels aren't slim things, no complaints from me--that coupled with how well Eva's words flow and are such a delight to read, I couldn't put it down for more than the few hours I had to sleep for. 'Just one more chapter' is a very justified and well known phrase that applies here, as well. You're getting quality content from a quality author, period.
As I've mentioned a few times here in this review as well as the review for Bitter Prince , this is a trilogy read. Which means to those who caught on quickly, there will be two cliffhangers at the ends of books one and two. These aren't standalone reads in a trilogy series, they all are connected in one shifting timeline. Cliffhanger number one again as previously mentioned, brought me to the edge of the cliff. Therefore, I should've expected another obvious cliffhanger at the end of book two, right? Correct. I knew that. Or at least, I think I did. I found myself so immersed in the story that Eva had written that by the time I was getting to the final pages of the last chapter of the book, I.Still.Did.Not.See.THAT.Cliffhanger.Coming! I was entranced and where I was once brought to the edge of the cliff, I am now dangling precariously while awaiting the drop to the third and final book in the series.
I hope you'll all join me there when the time comes, we can fall together and even deeper for an author who should be on every reader's bookshelf and sights.
Five stars!