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The Demon Queen Trials [Dramatized Adaptation] #3
Garden of Serpents [Dramatized Adaptation]
Once, Orion and I were lovers. Then, the gorgeous demon king broke my heart. He kicked me out of the City of Thorns, exiling me to the mortal world. Now, I have plans to get back at him--and save the world while I'm at it. Orion wants revenge on all the mortals. If I steal his crown, I can stop the bloodshed. All I have to do is beat him in a series of trials, proving that the gods chose me as queen. But Orion seems determined to seduce me with his apologies and sensual charm. And the fact is? He's hard to resist. In the City of Thorns, nothing is ever as it seems, but figuring out who to trust is the most important trial of all. Because if I get it wrong, I'll have the blood of thousands on my hands. Performed by Laura C. Harris, Gabriel Michael, Shanta Parasuraman, Bradley Foster Smith, Robb Moreira, Colleen Delany, Daniel Llaca, Elena Anderson, Eric Messner, Holly Adams, James Konicek, Ken Jackson, Matthew Pauli, Michael John Casey, Nanette Savard, Scott McCormick, and Yasmin Tuazon.
7 pages, Audiobook
Published August 4, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 19, 2023
I just love graphic audiobooks
I just wish things weren’t cut out… sigh…
Here’s my review on the book
In terms of the audiobook, I loooooved it! I went back to a normal audiobook after finishing this trilogy, and I was definitely feeling the difference 🤣. It makes it feel like I’m watching a movie, except I’m driving/doing chores/exercising when I listen to graphic audios🤣. Normal audiobooks don’t always do it.
SPOILER:
Now I realize that this is shorter than the unabridged audiobook, but I felt disappointed that the scene that got cut out (or “reduced”) was the… sex scene 😑. I’m so glad I had the ebook handy, because I quickly jumped to that scene only to find out that the graphic audio cut it out 😱🤨😒.
Why dammit why??? 😭. ACOTAR didn’t do us dirty like this!!!!
And the 🔥 in book 2 is included 🤷🏻♀️. Why they felt like making it a FTB during production I’ll never know 😒. Sigh.
Borrowing and reading the book was a win here, since I was able to enjoy the FTB in all its dirty glory 😉 and Orion gets down 🥵.
Do better graphic audio 😑 don’t make us get blue cl*ts 🤷🏻♀️. lol
I just wish things weren’t cut out… sigh…
Here’s my review on the book
In terms of the audiobook, I loooooved it! I went back to a normal audiobook after finishing this trilogy, and I was definitely feeling the difference 🤣. It makes it feel like I’m watching a movie, except I’m driving/doing chores/exercising when I listen to graphic audios🤣. Normal audiobooks don’t always do it.
SPOILER:
Now I realize that this is shorter than the unabridged audiobook, but I felt disappointed that the scene that got cut out (or “reduced”) was the… sex scene 😑. I’m so glad I had the ebook handy, because I quickly jumped to that scene only to find out that the graphic audio cut it out 😱🤨😒.
Why dammit why??? 😭. ACOTAR didn’t do us dirty like this!!!!
And the 🔥 in book 2 is included 🤷🏻♀️. Why they felt like making it a FTB during production I’ll never know 😒. Sigh.
Borrowing and reading the book was a win here, since I was able to enjoy the FTB in all its dirty glory 😉 and Orion gets down 🥵.
Do better graphic audio 😑 don’t make us get blue cl*ts 🤷🏻♀️. lol
March 2, 2024
This was a fairly decent ending to the trilogy and the better of the 3 books. Honestly, this didn't need to be a trilogy; it could have easily been a standalone. I'd say its a solid 3 star series. Nothing overwhelmingly crazy or captivating, but still an interesting premise. The narration was done quite well though, so that is a positive.
3.5 stars!!
3.5 stars!!
Did Not Finish
March 19, 2025Dropping this series. I just am not interested enough to continue.
December 4, 2023
4⭐
I liked this last book. I loved specially the trials, and how Rowan manages Orion. I liked the plot twists too. The only thing I think wasn't necessary was the epilogue. I felt it has non sense.
Me ha encantado este final de trilogía. Como Rowan vuelve a la City of Thorns y le propone a Orion 3 pruebas para demostrar quien es el verdadero rey o reina de los demonios.
Me encanta como su relación evoluciona, como por fin Orion ve a rowan por quien es, y no por quien quizá hubiera sido en un pasado, me encanta el plot twist, yo no me lo esperaba, y como siempre, lo que más me ha gustado es la dramatización en si.
Lo que me ha parecido que sobraba y un poco un sin sentido es el epílogo. Me ha parecido bastante chorra, sin sentido e innecesario.
I liked this last book. I loved specially the trials, and how Rowan manages Orion. I liked the plot twists too. The only thing I think wasn't necessary was the epilogue. I felt it has non sense.
Me ha encantado este final de trilogía. Como Rowan vuelve a la City of Thorns y le propone a Orion 3 pruebas para demostrar quien es el verdadero rey o reina de los demonios.
Me encanta como su relación evoluciona, como por fin Orion ve a rowan por quien es, y no por quien quizá hubiera sido en un pasado, me encanta el plot twist, yo no me lo esperaba, y como siempre, lo que más me ha gustado es la dramatización en si.
Lo que me ha parecido que sobraba y un poco un sin sentido es el epílogo. Me ha parecido bastante chorra, sin sentido e innecesario.
June 6, 2024
This series was soooooooo good. The twists at the end were wild but so freaking good. I love Orion and Rowan together and the end was so cute. So freaking cute.
August 14, 2026
As always, the narrators brought this book to life. I listened to it via graphic audio, and it was fantastic!
This book continued to highlight the MFC as an assertive woman who stayed true to her values and beliefs while maintaining her empathy and compassion. In this book, though, she became more cautious and better guarded against what she perceived to be the MMC's manipulation. I also appreciated that she retained some morally gray aspects to her character instead of becoming overly idealized.
We also continued to get more depth from the MMC. Piece by piece, we learned more about his life before he was imprisoned, his relationships with his family, and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. I appreciated how the author revealed these details. It also became increasingly clear how deeply traumatized he was and how much effort he put into maintaining the rigid walls he'd built to protect himself. At the same time, it was obvious those walls were beginning to crack because of the MFC and the impact she had on his life.
One thing I really appreciated was that, once the MCs became lovers, neither of them doubted the other. Even when situations looked suspicious, the MFC never questioned the MMC's loyalty, which was refreshing to read.
The ending gave the MCs their HEA while still leaving readers with lingering mysteries and unanswered questions. I thought that was an interesting way to wrap up the trilogy.
Unfortunately, this book also started to lose some of the momentum the first two books had built. Despite being relatively short, parts of the story dragged. My biggest struggle was believing that this woman, who had been raised as a human, was suddenly the best candidate to become queen. Book two told us she had been training for a year, but it never actually showed us that growth. We were expected to believe she went from someone who couldn't even give a psychology presentation and was living in a basement with spiders to winning deadly trials, killing people when necessary, and being ready to rule a kingdom. That kind of transformation could have worked, but because it happened almost entirely off the page, it didn't feel earned or believable.
As awful as Kaz was, I found myself agreeing with one of his biggest arguments. I even saw another reviewer mention the same thing: when the antagonist makes a valid point and readers agree with him instead of the heroine, that's worth paying attention to. What did the people actually want? Did they have any say in who ruled them? Just because the MFC was born with the right to lead didn't necessarily mean she was the best person for the job or that her rule was what the people wanted. She had no experience leading, and I wish there had been at least some acknowledgment from her that she might not be the strongest candidate or that she had a lot to learn before taking the throne.
This book continued to highlight the MFC as an assertive woman who stayed true to her values and beliefs while maintaining her empathy and compassion. In this book, though, she became more cautious and better guarded against what she perceived to be the MMC's manipulation. I also appreciated that she retained some morally gray aspects to her character instead of becoming overly idealized.
We also continued to get more depth from the MMC. Piece by piece, we learned more about his life before he was imprisoned, his relationships with his family, and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. I appreciated how the author revealed these details. It also became increasingly clear how deeply traumatized he was and how much effort he put into maintaining the rigid walls he'd built to protect himself. At the same time, it was obvious those walls were beginning to crack because of the MFC and the impact she had on his life.
One thing I really appreciated was that, once the MCs became lovers, neither of them doubted the other. Even when situations looked suspicious, the MFC never questioned the MMC's loyalty, which was refreshing to read.
The ending gave the MCs their HEA while still leaving readers with lingering mysteries and unanswered questions. I thought that was an interesting way to wrap up the trilogy.
Unfortunately, this book also started to lose some of the momentum the first two books had built. Despite being relatively short, parts of the story dragged. My biggest struggle was believing that this woman, who had been raised as a human, was suddenly the best candidate to become queen. Book two told us she had been training for a year, but it never actually showed us that growth. We were expected to believe she went from someone who couldn't even give a psychology presentation and was living in a basement with spiders to winning deadly trials, killing people when necessary, and being ready to rule a kingdom. That kind of transformation could have worked, but because it happened almost entirely off the page, it didn't feel earned or believable.
As awful as Kaz was, I found myself agreeing with one of his biggest arguments. I even saw another reviewer mention the same thing: when the antagonist makes a valid point and readers agree with him instead of the heroine, that's worth paying attention to. What did the people actually want? Did they have any say in who ruled them? Just because the MFC was born with the right to lead didn't necessarily mean she was the best person for the job or that her rule was what the people wanted. She had no experience leading, and I wish there had been at least some acknowledgment from her that she might not be the strongest candidate or that she had a lot to learn before taking the throne.
December 13, 2025
It was an okay series ending. She challenged him to become Queen so he won’t kill all the humans to seek revenge. They compete and trust each other and end up getting married to be both king and queen and defeat the demon hunters.
December 20, 2025
I couldn’t do it anymore. Everyone is annoying and obnoxious. Dnf @ 75%
Read
November 18, 2025🌶️🌶️
August 3, 2024
The narration of this book was good. I was able to put the book down for several days. The ending seemed a bit anticlimactic. The relationship of the main characters throughout the trilogy was just a bit hot and cold, but without too much rhyme or reason- it just seemed a bit off. While the main characters were likeable and the plot was good, I felt this trilogy could have been 1 book. There was a section of this book that dragged. It was a good book but it didn’t captivate me in a way that was an all consuming read. The world building was good, but I felt a bit under explained. How the author tied the characters together and gave us enlightening characteristics of them was just very much passed over in a quick mention sort of way. The main character and his trauma that was impacting his names/personalities felt a bit skimmed and never fully explained all that well- it explained it, but very surface level. The whole last 15 minutes was about their relationship and children 13 years later and I felt like it didn’t add a whole lot to the book. They had a mini issue to be solved with their son that felt very rushed and out of place in this book. I didn’t like that at all and felt like ok enough already since it didn’t add much- not even for setting up future books. Just seemed a very odd and abrupt after thought to the book. It was like the author was a required to do an epilogue that was in my opinion poorly done, but not actually an epilogue. Overall it was a decent read. It had a decent story and good narration, but nothing that was all that wow in my opinion. Good read but not super note worthy.
May 31, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
I loved the idea of this book so much, I just feel like there were so many holes. The battles feel anticlimactic, especially the last fight with Caz (sorry if I didn’t spell correct, I listened to the dramatized audio). I loved the trials but the ends fell flat. The best part of the whole book was the visit to the underworld and the only reason this book gets a tiny bit higher rating. I mean the story was enjoyable though a little lacking when it comes to finishing thoughts and scenes. I love C.N. Crawford and will continue to read her books but this series isn’t my top favorite of hers.
I loved the idea of this book so much, I just feel like there were so many holes. The battles feel anticlimactic, especially the last fight with Caz (sorry if I didn’t spell correct, I listened to the dramatized audio). I loved the trials but the ends fell flat. The best part of the whole book was the visit to the underworld and the only reason this book gets a tiny bit higher rating. I mean the story was enjoyable though a little lacking when it comes to finishing thoughts and scenes. I love C.N. Crawford and will continue to read her books but this series isn’t my top favorite of hers.
August 19, 2025
This book series wasn’t anything amazing by any means but it wasn’t terrible. It was really just something to listen to, to pass the time and it served its purpose. I felt like there was unnecessary drama at times, where I’d think… here we go again 😒 I do enjoy the graphic audiobooks as it makes you feel immersed in the book. I probably wouldn’t have finished this book series if it wasn’t in audiobook format.
March 4, 2024
This felt choppy and rushed. Reading other reviews, it looks like sections were removed for time, which I understand. The ending, although happy, felt rushed. The final battle was so quick and just seemed anticlimactic. I really liked their series but this last book left me wanting more. I will continue to listen to graphic audio and CN Crawford books though!
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2024
I listened to the Graphic Audio version which is like "a movie in your mind." I enjoyed the first 2 in the series but the 3rd book was a bit strange at times. The end of the book was very convoluted and just kind of ran out of gas and fizzled. It's hard to explain without spoiling the end but it just seemed rushed and thrown together.
May 13, 2025
Basic Plot: Rowan competes with Orion for the Throne of the city, then discovers a new threat.
When you find yourself thinking, "You know, the villain is actually making a damn good point," the story really starts to lose its luster. There was a lot here that just frustrated me or just didn't do it for me. I'm not impressed.
When you find yourself thinking, "You know, the villain is actually making a damn good point," the story really starts to lose its luster. There was a lot here that just frustrated me or just didn't do it for me. I'm not impressed.
August 8, 2025
This book kept me guessing which way the plot was going to twist, which I truly enjoy. I loved the chapters that came from the interior of Orion's POV, and many of those moments made me melt. There were plenty of spicy moments and the sultry voice of Gabriel Michael, with a sexy English accent, made me enjoy them even more.
June 24, 2024
I had to pause this one while listening at work because Orion was going to make me sob so hard. The voice actor did such an amazing job with this character, I could feel every single emotion just from the tone. Redemption arcs are my jam, love love love.
February 26, 2025
This girl lived in a spider infested basement struggling to get her BA and went from not knowing she was a demon to wanting to rule all of them in the neighboring city..?
WHAT WAS WITH EGGS IN THE EPILOGUE?
WHAT WAS WITH EGGS IN THE EPILOGUE?
February 26, 2024
EPILOGUE BABIES 🤬🤬🤬🤬
April 13, 2024
Not as good as the other two. Actually got a bit bored and it took some time to finish it!
May 10, 2024
3.5⭐️
July 30, 2024
3.4 stars
September 9, 2024
Series overall: Not great. Bad pacing. Poor character development. Premise was interesting but overall needed a lot of work. Spicy scenes went from detailed to FTB by book 3. Will not read again.
October 25, 2024
I enjoyed this last book out of the three. That twist surprised me. Enjoyed getting to see Rowan and Orion getting through their obstacles.
December 17, 2024
Still such a good modern fantasy book. I can't wait for the rest!
January 7, 2025
I enjoyed it.
June 27, 2025
The series was entertaining, but i didn’t like that the book is clearly inspired alot by other popular books like acotar and cresent city, which makes it not very original. Also a bit cringy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews