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The Almost Queen
The Witch Needs Her Freedom. Ellara Wist, one of the many witches that fought on the losing side of the war, has no intentions of returning to Outerland when it is finished and she has no intention of letting her fellow witches suffer either. So, during her sentencing for war crimes against the kingdom of Aulen, she boldly offers their new king a she'll join the king's court as his own personal sorceress in exchange for the lives and freedom of those trapped in Outerland.The King Needs a Wife. Terran didn't want to be king. But after years of war and the loss of almost his entire family, he will not put the crown aside. But when a witch from his past offers herself as a sacrifice, he sees her as an equal. So, he instead counters her offer with one of his Don't be my sorceress. Be my Queen.And the deal they strike will change their world forever. Desperate, Ellara agrees, swearing to herself that she could never love him. But as time reveals the man she's married not as the monster everyone thought he was and danger draws them closer together, she finds her vow almost impossible to keep.
268 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2021
12 people are currently reading
516 people want to read
About the author
Alys Murray
15 books166 followersAlys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories!
Her work as an author led to a flourishing career in screenwriting, where she has penned films and shows for Hallmark, ViacomCBS, Lifetime, and British television. An alum of RespectAbility, The Inevitable Foundation, and The Orchard Project, she is a tireless disability advocate.
Alys loves connecting with readers, so if you want to get in touch, you can find her at http://www.alysmurray.com or on twitter and instagram at @writeralys.
Her work as an author led to a flourishing career in screenwriting, where she has penned films and shows for Hallmark, ViacomCBS, Lifetime, and British television. An alum of RespectAbility, The Inevitable Foundation, and The Orchard Project, she is a tireless disability advocate.
Alys loves connecting with readers, so if you want to get in touch, you can find her at http://www.alysmurray.com or on twitter and instagram at @writeralys.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 12, 2021
When Ellara, a witch, finds herself a prisoner of war under the House of Rosson, she decides to gamble her freedom for the freedom of all her people by promising the support of the witches to Terran,the king who remains standing at the end of a gruesome decade of war. They agree to a marriage of convenience in order to get what they each want.
Unfortunately, this story did not work very well for me. While the plot started out pretty well with the main characters coming to this rather unconventional agreement, it deteriorated quickly after that. The relationship between Terran and Ellara seems to go from zero to sixty in a matter of just a couple of chapters. Terran’s chapters are well narrated and give a holistic view of his character. But Ellara’s chapters do little more than narrate the events of the story as they occur. Ellara remains to be an enigma, mostly because there doesn't seem to be much effort to delve into her persona. The author could have also gone deeper into the details of Ellara’s relationship with her mother as it has such a huge impact later on in the story. There also wasn’t a very good resolution at the end of the story.
I have to admit that I liked the plotline that the author chose. Unfortunately, this attempt at an angst filled love story in a fantasy setting, fell short on its mark. I did like Terran’s war weary character and his world view. It came across as realistic.
Despite my disappointment with this novel, I would be open to reading other fantasy stories from Alys Murray since I liked the original direction of this story.
Special thanks to the author and BookSirens for sharing an Advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
Unfortunately, this story did not work very well for me. While the plot started out pretty well with the main characters coming to this rather unconventional agreement, it deteriorated quickly after that. The relationship between Terran and Ellara seems to go from zero to sixty in a matter of just a couple of chapters. Terran’s chapters are well narrated and give a holistic view of his character. But Ellara’s chapters do little more than narrate the events of the story as they occur. Ellara remains to be an enigma, mostly because there doesn't seem to be much effort to delve into her persona. The author could have also gone deeper into the details of Ellara’s relationship with her mother as it has such a huge impact later on in the story. There also wasn’t a very good resolution at the end of the story.
I have to admit that I liked the plotline that the author chose. Unfortunately, this attempt at an angst filled love story in a fantasy setting, fell short on its mark. I did like Terran’s war weary character and his world view. It came across as realistic.
Despite my disappointment with this novel, I would be open to reading other fantasy stories from Alys Murray since I liked the original direction of this story.
Special thanks to the author and BookSirens for sharing an Advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
December 15, 2021
Rating: 3.5/5.o
In “The Almost Queen”, Alys Murray creates a spell-binding narrative set in a world unlike any other.
Read full review in the 2021 Holiday issue of InD'tale Magazine.
In “The Almost Queen”, Alys Murray creates a spell-binding narrative set in a world unlike any other.
Read full review in the 2021 Holiday issue of InD'tale Magazine.
October 12, 2021
Thank you Sword and Silk Publishing for an e-ARC!
I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the forbidden love story, marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers trope. Ellara and Terran's story was melded together so well and I enjoyed their development from their first meeting to what occurred at the end. I pretty much read this in one sitting and the intermingling of a fantasy world with romance is always a favorite of mine. The writing was great and I honestly enjoyed where each character fell into the story. Murray also alternated between Terran and Ellara's perspective and I thought seeing things from each of them was quite beneficial. Witch and non-witch stories are super fun and this was so enjoyable. I am also glad it was a standalone, I would love more and maybe a short story of the future, but everything was done nicely in one book! I definitely want to read more of Murray's books and highly recommend this for anyone who ships Klaroline, loves Serpent and Dove and is here for an exciting witchy read!
I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the forbidden love story, marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers trope. Ellara and Terran's story was melded together so well and I enjoyed their development from their first meeting to what occurred at the end. I pretty much read this in one sitting and the intermingling of a fantasy world with romance is always a favorite of mine. The writing was great and I honestly enjoyed where each character fell into the story. Murray also alternated between Terran and Ellara's perspective and I thought seeing things from each of them was quite beneficial. Witch and non-witch stories are super fun and this was so enjoyable. I am also glad it was a standalone, I would love more and maybe a short story of the future, but everything was done nicely in one book! I definitely want to read more of Murray's books and highly recommend this for anyone who ships Klaroline, loves Serpent and Dove and is here for an exciting witchy read!
October 11, 2021
3.5 stars!
The Almost Queen by Alys Murray is a new enemies to lovers (but not hate to love they are literal enemies due to circumstances) fantasy romance featuring witches, dragons, and the aftermath of a bloody war. Ellara has been fighting in a never ending war for the past 8 years trying to prove that witches can be trusted. She’s fighting to get the exile of the witches to the Outerlands lifted. Terran is the final prince in the royal family that has been stuck in a near constant war to keep their throne. After Terran’s side wins the war, Ellara has been captured and sentenced to execution after a failed escape attempt. What Terran’s new counsel doesn’t know is that he owes a debt to this witch and she’s ready to collect.
This book has some really strong points, namely the dialogue, and some points that could use improvement. There was a lot of introspection by the characters about the same thing over and over again (“I’m not going to fall in love with them!”) and I really was hoping for more interactions between Ellara and Terran. Terran, though he is super sweet, pushes her away all the time. It made it very hard to believe that he loved her so much as he claims. The story took a turn at one point that wasn’t expected, but I think the author was able to bring it back around in the end. The middle lagged just a bit for me, probably because the story wasn’t plotted the way I expected. I did really love the ending, especially the scene at the very end with Ellara and Terran.
I have no idea if this is a series, but I do think this book would have benefited from some editing in some places and some additional scenes in other places. I think spreading out some of the events in this book to a second one would have allowed for more development of the world. The base is there for a really amazing world and complex relationships, but we didn’t see too much of it outside of Ellara and Terran. I would definitely read a sequel to this book, especially since there is a lot of potential for other hate to love relationships between former enemies who now must work together. In other words, I would love to read an intense romance between Elias, sworn witch-hater who is Terran’s right hand man, and Briony, who is a tough as nails, take no shit, witch.
Overall, I think a lot of people will enjoy this story and the love interest, Terran. There are some truly beautifully written scenes. The author, Alys Murray, has written quite a few other romances and a screenplay, which definitely shows in her ability to write dialogue that makes sense and sounds natural. This is her first fantasy (as far as I can tell) and although there is room for improvement, it was a good fantasy debut.
*Thank you to Sword & Silk Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*
The Almost Queen by Alys Murray is a new enemies to lovers (but not hate to love they are literal enemies due to circumstances) fantasy romance featuring witches, dragons, and the aftermath of a bloody war. Ellara has been fighting in a never ending war for the past 8 years trying to prove that witches can be trusted. She’s fighting to get the exile of the witches to the Outerlands lifted. Terran is the final prince in the royal family that has been stuck in a near constant war to keep their throne. After Terran’s side wins the war, Ellara has been captured and sentenced to execution after a failed escape attempt. What Terran’s new counsel doesn’t know is that he owes a debt to this witch and she’s ready to collect.
This book has some really strong points, namely the dialogue, and some points that could use improvement. There was a lot of introspection by the characters about the same thing over and over again (“I’m not going to fall in love with them!”) and I really was hoping for more interactions between Ellara and Terran. Terran, though he is super sweet, pushes her away all the time. It made it very hard to believe that he loved her so much as he claims. The story took a turn at one point that wasn’t expected, but I think the author was able to bring it back around in the end. The middle lagged just a bit for me, probably because the story wasn’t plotted the way I expected. I did really love the ending, especially the scene at the very end with Ellara and Terran.
I have no idea if this is a series, but I do think this book would have benefited from some editing in some places and some additional scenes in other places. I think spreading out some of the events in this book to a second one would have allowed for more development of the world. The base is there for a really amazing world and complex relationships, but we didn’t see too much of it outside of Ellara and Terran. I would definitely read a sequel to this book, especially since there is a lot of potential for other hate to love relationships between former enemies who now must work together. In other words, I would love to read an intense romance between Elias, sworn witch-hater who is Terran’s right hand man, and Briony, who is a tough as nails, take no shit, witch.
Overall, I think a lot of people will enjoy this story and the love interest, Terran. There are some truly beautifully written scenes. The author, Alys Murray, has written quite a few other romances and a screenplay, which definitely shows in her ability to write dialogue that makes sense and sounds natural. This is her first fantasy (as far as I can tell) and although there is room for improvement, it was a good fantasy debut.
*Thank you to Sword & Silk Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*
December 14, 2021
I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t. The writing wasn’t bad but the plot was so predictable, I mostly had the entire story figured out by 30% in. I don’t understand the character development at all. They seemed to make major decisions with no motivation and then changed their minds just as easily. There wasn’t much of a spark between Ellara and Terran and it didn’t change throughout the story. I have no idea why Ellara made the decision that she made at the end and as much as I normally would have been for it, I actually wanted her to hold to her original statement. I’m glad this book was short because I needed to finish it for my reading challenge but if it had been too long, it definitely would have made the DNF list.
June 8, 2021
I absolutely adore this book. Alys is a wonderful storyteller, and the work she’s done here by delving into the fantasy genre is both interesting and engaging. I love the storyline and the development of the characters, and would absolutely read this again and again.
June 11, 2021
I received an ARC of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Almost Queen by Alys Murray is a story of a king who lost everything for his crown, and a kindred witch willing to do anything to regain her freedom. Ellara Wist is a powerful, confident protagonist, knowing exactly what she wants and when she wants it. I enjoyed reading her journey from being a prisoner of war to the queen of the kingdom. The world building wasn't much, but it was certainly not bad. Overall, I really like the story of Ellara and Terran, although I really wished the story had been split into a duology instead, giving more time for the plot as well as the characters to grow and shine. I especially loved the ending where Ellara talks about the weather, that part was written so beautifully and brought tears to my eyes.
Alys Murray has weaved a lovely story of witches, royalty, love and sacrifice. It was quick read and thoroughly enjoyable. 3.5 stars! (How I wished Goodreads would listen to us and make it possible to rate half stars).
The Almost Queen by Alys Murray is a story of a king who lost everything for his crown, and a kindred witch willing to do anything to regain her freedom. Ellara Wist is a powerful, confident protagonist, knowing exactly what she wants and when she wants it. I enjoyed reading her journey from being a prisoner of war to the queen of the kingdom. The world building wasn't much, but it was certainly not bad. Overall, I really like the story of Ellara and Terran, although I really wished the story had been split into a duology instead, giving more time for the plot as well as the characters to grow and shine. I especially loved the ending where Ellara talks about the weather, that part was written so beautifully and brought tears to my eyes.
Alys Murray has weaved a lovely story of witches, royalty, love and sacrifice. It was quick read and thoroughly enjoyable. 3.5 stars! (How I wished Goodreads would listen to us and make it possible to rate half stars).
October 13, 2021
Review/Reseña en Español/English
Español
Otra autora nueva para mí y esta vez con un libro de romance y fantasía, la trama me llamó mucho la atención; en general fue bastante entretenida y me gustó mucho cómo se llevó a cabo. En este mundo existen brujas, dragones y otro tipo de criaturas, pero tienen una cosa en común: ser odiados y temidos por los humano (nada nuevo), por lo que, Ellara le propone a Terran el nuevo rey de Aulan que la haga su reina para crear una alianza entre brujas y humano, y así él pueda mantener su corona, obviamente las cosas no son tan sencillas y tienen problemas en el camino.
Personajes principales
Ellara West, es un personaje muy agradable, me gusto su personalidad aunque no siento que la autora haya desarrollado muy bien su punto de vista, en ocasiones no podía comprenderla porque parecía que estaba en tercera persona, pero aun así me encanto su personalidad fuerte y amable.
Mientras que Terran fue un personaje complicado, hubo muchas instancias donde quería matarlo pero por suerte para él logró redimirse. Era muy indeciso al inicio pero siento que a diferencia de Ellara si logré conocerlo y ver el cambio que tuvo de personalidad, fue muy agradable.
Me encantó el inicio de su relación, al principio me estresaba pero al final me logró convencer el cambio de su relación, fueron demasiado lindos como para no aceptarlo. Terran respeta a Ellara y paso de verla como alguien peligro a la persona en la que más puede confiar, me encanto.
Trama
Me gusto la relación de Ellora y Terran pero la trama no mucho, siento que el culpable fue la extensión del libro dado que es corto todo era muy apresurado, desde cómo se da la relación, como se explica el mundo y especialmente el final. El final no fue de mi agrado, fue extremadamente dramático y pudo ser manejado de una mejor manera, básicamente todo se soluciona muy rápido. También el comienzo fue tedioso y pensé en dejarlo pero ya que no es un libro extenso lo leí en un día.
Personajes secundarios
Hay varios personajes secundarios, no de gran importancia y especialmente no de mi agrado, la única que me agrado fue Briony, ella es la única buena persona o bruja que sabe usar la cabeza y una excelente amiga. El personaje que más he odiado por un largo tiempo: Elias, ni siquiera diré nada de él, solo lo odio.
Pensamientos finales
En general, fue una historia rápida que tiene romance (muy lindo por cierto), aventuras y un poco de acción, definitivamente me gustaría saber más de este mundo.
¿Lo recomiendo? Si.
TW: violencia, tortura.
Heroína: 7/10
Héroe: 6/10
Romance: 6/10
Tipo de relación: F/M
Violencia/ escenas turbias: 2/10
Trama: 6/10
Tipo: standalone
Portada: 5/10
English
Another new author for me and this time with a book of romance and fantasy, the plot caught my attention; it was quite entertaining and I really liked how it was done. In this world, there are witches, dragons, and other types of creatures, but they have one thing in common: being hated and feared by humans (nothing new), so Ellara, our protagonist, proposes to Terran the new king of Aulan to make her his queen to create an alliance between witches and human, and so he can keep his crown, obviously things aren't so simple and they have problems along the way.
Main characters
Ellara West, is a very nice character, I liked her personality although I don't feel that the author has developed her point of view very well, sometimes I couldn't understand her because it seemed that her pov was in third person, but still, I loved her strong and sweet personality.
While Terran was a complicated character, there were many instances where I wanted to kill him but luckily for him, he managed to redeem himself. He was very indecisive at the beginning but I feel that unlike Ellara I actually managed to meet him and see the change he had, it was very pleasant.
I loved the beginning of their relationship, at first it stressed me out but in the end, it managed to convince me, they were too cute for me to not accept it. Terran respects Ellara and goes from seeing her as someone who is dangerous to the person he can trust the most, I love it.
Plot
I liked the relationship of Ellora and Terran but the plot not so much, I feel that the culprit was the length of the book since it's short, everything was very rushed, from how the relationship occurs, how the world is explained, and especially the ending. The ending wasn't up to my liking, it was extremely dramatic and could be handled in a better way, basically, everything is solved very quickly. Also, the beginning was tedious and I thought of leaving it but since it's not a long book I read it in one day.
Side characters
There are several side characters, not of great importance and especially not to my liking, the only one I liked was Briony, she's the only good person or witch who knows how to use her head and an excellent friend. The character I've hated the most: Elias, I won't even say anything about him, I just hate him.
Final thoughts
Overall it was a quick story that has romance (very cute by the way), adventure, and a bit of action, I would definitely like to know more about this world.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
TW: violence, torture.
Heroine: 7/10
Hero: 6/10
Romance: 6/10
Type of Relationship: F/M
Violence/dark scenes: 2/10
Plot: 5/10
Type: Standalone
Cover: 5/10
My thanks to the author Alys Murray and BookSirens for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review.
Español
Otra autora nueva para mí y esta vez con un libro de romance y fantasía, la trama me llamó mucho la atención; en general fue bastante entretenida y me gustó mucho cómo se llevó a cabo. En este mundo existen brujas, dragones y otro tipo de criaturas, pero tienen una cosa en común: ser odiados y temidos por los humano (nada nuevo), por lo que, Ellara le propone a Terran el nuevo rey de Aulan que la haga su reina para crear una alianza entre brujas y humano, y así él pueda mantener su corona, obviamente las cosas no son tan sencillas y tienen problemas en el camino.
Personajes principales
Ellara West, es un personaje muy agradable, me gusto su personalidad aunque no siento que la autora haya desarrollado muy bien su punto de vista, en ocasiones no podía comprenderla porque parecía que estaba en tercera persona, pero aun así me encanto su personalidad fuerte y amable.
Mientras que Terran fue un personaje complicado, hubo muchas instancias donde quería matarlo pero por suerte para él logró redimirse. Era muy indeciso al inicio pero siento que a diferencia de Ellara si logré conocerlo y ver el cambio que tuvo de personalidad, fue muy agradable.
Me encantó el inicio de su relación, al principio me estresaba pero al final me logró convencer el cambio de su relación, fueron demasiado lindos como para no aceptarlo. Terran respeta a Ellara y paso de verla como alguien peligro a la persona en la que más puede confiar, me encanto.
Trama
Me gusto la relación de Ellora y Terran pero la trama no mucho, siento que el culpable fue la extensión del libro dado que es corto todo era muy apresurado, desde cómo se da la relación, como se explica el mundo y especialmente el final. El final no fue de mi agrado, fue extremadamente dramático y pudo ser manejado de una mejor manera, básicamente todo se soluciona muy rápido. También el comienzo fue tedioso y pensé en dejarlo pero ya que no es un libro extenso lo leí en un día.
Personajes secundarios
Hay varios personajes secundarios, no de gran importancia y especialmente no de mi agrado, la única que me agrado fue Briony, ella es la única buena persona o bruja que sabe usar la cabeza y una excelente amiga. El personaje que más he odiado por un largo tiempo: Elias, ni siquiera diré nada de él, solo lo odio.
Pensamientos finales
En general, fue una historia rápida que tiene romance (muy lindo por cierto), aventuras y un poco de acción, definitivamente me gustaría saber más de este mundo.
¿Lo recomiendo? Si.
TW: violencia, tortura.
Heroína: 7/10
Héroe: 6/10
Romance: 6/10
Tipo de relación: F/M
Violencia/ escenas turbias: 2/10
Trama: 6/10
Tipo: standalone
Portada: 5/10
English
Another new author for me and this time with a book of romance and fantasy, the plot caught my attention; it was quite entertaining and I really liked how it was done. In this world, there are witches, dragons, and other types of creatures, but they have one thing in common: being hated and feared by humans (nothing new), so Ellara, our protagonist, proposes to Terran the new king of Aulan to make her his queen to create an alliance between witches and human, and so he can keep his crown, obviously things aren't so simple and they have problems along the way.
Main characters
Ellara West, is a very nice character, I liked her personality although I don't feel that the author has developed her point of view very well, sometimes I couldn't understand her because it seemed that her pov was in third person, but still, I loved her strong and sweet personality.
While Terran was a complicated character, there were many instances where I wanted to kill him but luckily for him, he managed to redeem himself. He was very indecisive at the beginning but I feel that unlike Ellara I actually managed to meet him and see the change he had, it was very pleasant.
I loved the beginning of their relationship, at first it stressed me out but in the end, it managed to convince me, they were too cute for me to not accept it. Terran respects Ellara and goes from seeing her as someone who is dangerous to the person he can trust the most, I love it.
“They’re my responsibility. Just like my family was.”He squeezed her hand. “But you’re my choice. And I hope you choose me."
Plot
I liked the relationship of Ellora and Terran but the plot not so much, I feel that the culprit was the length of the book since it's short, everything was very rushed, from how the relationship occurs, how the world is explained, and especially the ending. The ending wasn't up to my liking, it was extremely dramatic and could be handled in a better way, basically, everything is solved very quickly. Also, the beginning was tedious and I thought of leaving it but since it's not a long book I read it in one day.
Side characters
There are several side characters, not of great importance and especially not to my liking, the only one I liked was Briony, she's the only good person or witch who knows how to use her head and an excellent friend. The character I've hated the most: Elias, I won't even say anything about him, I just hate him.
Final thoughts
Overall it was a quick story that has romance (very cute by the way), adventure, and a bit of action, I would definitely like to know more about this world.
“Ellara Wist of Outerland, will you marry me?”
Do I recommend it? Yes.
TW: violence, torture.
Heroine: 7/10
Hero: 6/10
Romance: 6/10
Type of Relationship: F/M
Violence/dark scenes: 2/10
Plot: 5/10
Type: Standalone
Cover: 5/10
My thanks to the author Alys Murray and BookSirens for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review.
October 12, 2021
Overall - 3/5
This was a quick, mostly fun, entertaining read. The premise was fun and interesting (albeit not all together super creative), but the characters and world building left a little to be desired, especially by the end. While i wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book, i would not discourage anyone to read it either, nor would i fault anyone for enjoying it.
World Building - 3/5
I’m a person that doesn’t generally need a ton of world building in order to enjoy a story, but in this case, I really did want more world building. The general history and ‘legacy’ part of the world building was done, but I didn’t learn until the end of the book that the witches have a queen or leadership structure at all. For the readers to really understand why Ellara wants to save her people and to sympathize with that goal, we really need to know who those people are. I don’t think we even learned her mother’s name until the third half of the book. Additionally, though we learned generally about the wars that are apparently now over, other than the vague “they wanted power” I’m not really sure what they were about. Sure it’s one thing to say “they wanted power” but without giving any more details, it’s hard to get a good picture of the culture or history of the country or why it’s even worth saving. Even when Ellara and Terran decided to “tour” the countryside, we only got one dancing section and learned absolutely zero about the state of the country. Give me that scene in the movie Ella Enchanted, where Ella and Char are at a giant wedding, and though they are deepening their own relationship, we are also learning about the state of the country that Char is going to be king of.
Plot 2.5/5
The plot is heavy romance. While this isn’t something that bothers me, in fact, i wanted a specifically romance-y fantasy book, the plot here did feel pretty lack luster. Mostly it was the characters moving from place to place to have awkward interactions and deny their feelings for each other. Even the bandit scene was over a little too quickly. I kind of hoped it would turn in to them on the run from the bandits, having to learn about each other and work together outside of the court, all while trying to fight their way back. Either way, it felt a little aimless until the last twenty pages of the book where the main conflict could be summed up by me saying “oh no, it’s going to be hard to get out of that” and the author saying “oh it’ll be super easy, barely an inconvenience”.
Characters 2.5/5
At first, I loved Ellara and was intrigued by Terran. In fact, it’s why I bought the book. She seemed like a goal orientated, badass witch, with a kind heart (PS: give me a prequel of her earning the name “The Good Witch” and i’ll be here for it, honestly that sounded more interesting than this plot line). But for all the promise I started with, I feel like neither character actually went anywhere. Terran’s arc was supposed to be feeling like he was worthy of love, while actually doing zero to be worthy of love unless you count gawking at Ellara; while Ellara’s arc was supposed to be…. I actually am not sure. I think it should have been something like learning to trust humans… except she did that from the beginning kind of, sometimes.
*Spoiler*
I almost would have preferred if Ellara did get captured on purpose based on her mother’s plan to take over the kingdom and DID betray Terran but then has a change of heart and realizes that not everyone is bad or good, etc. or something like that. She went from being a badass warrior, to a love struck teenager. And honestly i’m not sure why she even likes Terran. Okay, he saved a baby duck once…. Is that it? Because he’s kind of the worst.
Writing Style 4/5
While i realize my review is negative up until this point, i have to commend the writing style. It wasn’t perfect, but it really grabbed me at the beginning, so despite not loving the book by the end, i did finish the book, which says something.
This was a quick, mostly fun, entertaining read. The premise was fun and interesting (albeit not all together super creative), but the characters and world building left a little to be desired, especially by the end. While i wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book, i would not discourage anyone to read it either, nor would i fault anyone for enjoying it.
World Building - 3/5
I’m a person that doesn’t generally need a ton of world building in order to enjoy a story, but in this case, I really did want more world building. The general history and ‘legacy’ part of the world building was done, but I didn’t learn until the end of the book that the witches have a queen or leadership structure at all. For the readers to really understand why Ellara wants to save her people and to sympathize with that goal, we really need to know who those people are. I don’t think we even learned her mother’s name until the third half of the book. Additionally, though we learned generally about the wars that are apparently now over, other than the vague “they wanted power” I’m not really sure what they were about. Sure it’s one thing to say “they wanted power” but without giving any more details, it’s hard to get a good picture of the culture or history of the country or why it’s even worth saving. Even when Ellara and Terran decided to “tour” the countryside, we only got one dancing section and learned absolutely zero about the state of the country. Give me that scene in the movie Ella Enchanted, where Ella and Char are at a giant wedding, and though they are deepening their own relationship, we are also learning about the state of the country that Char is going to be king of.
Plot 2.5/5
The plot is heavy romance. While this isn’t something that bothers me, in fact, i wanted a specifically romance-y fantasy book, the plot here did feel pretty lack luster. Mostly it was the characters moving from place to place to have awkward interactions and deny their feelings for each other. Even the bandit scene was over a little too quickly. I kind of hoped it would turn in to them on the run from the bandits, having to learn about each other and work together outside of the court, all while trying to fight their way back. Either way, it felt a little aimless until the last twenty pages of the book where the main conflict could be summed up by me saying “oh no, it’s going to be hard to get out of that” and the author saying “oh it’ll be super easy, barely an inconvenience”.
Characters 2.5/5
At first, I loved Ellara and was intrigued by Terran. In fact, it’s why I bought the book. She seemed like a goal orientated, badass witch, with a kind heart (PS: give me a prequel of her earning the name “The Good Witch” and i’ll be here for it, honestly that sounded more interesting than this plot line). But for all the promise I started with, I feel like neither character actually went anywhere. Terran’s arc was supposed to be feeling like he was worthy of love, while actually doing zero to be worthy of love unless you count gawking at Ellara; while Ellara’s arc was supposed to be…. I actually am not sure. I think it should have been something like learning to trust humans… except she did that from the beginning kind of, sometimes.
*Spoiler*
I almost would have preferred if Ellara did get captured on purpose based on her mother’s plan to take over the kingdom and DID betray Terran but then has a change of heart and realizes that not everyone is bad or good, etc. or something like that. She went from being a badass warrior, to a love struck teenager. And honestly i’m not sure why she even likes Terran. Okay, he saved a baby duck once…. Is that it? Because he’s kind of the worst.
Writing Style 4/5
While i realize my review is negative up until this point, i have to commend the writing style. It wasn’t perfect, but it really grabbed me at the beginning, so despite not loving the book by the end, i did finish the book, which says something.
June 16, 2021
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I really enjoy the witch-human or faerie-human relationships in fantasy romance books. Alys really build up an amazing and interesting world of magic. It was written very well for your imagination to create the world in your mind.
It was really cool to have the witches look different than humans. I adored the difference between their apperance. I really loved this touch of the story so I am not going to spoiler this part if you want to see you have to read :) I really would love to see more stories and characters from her magical world. Also I loved all the names in this book, she definitely choose really cool names. Now lets head for the characters reviews.
In my opinion the backstory of the main characters were cut a little short in the beginning. We learned more at the end but I really would love to know a lot more in the beginning to understand the motives of them better. The backstory of the side characters were missing a lot more almost to none but that may indicate another book for this magical world which I am down for it :) Terran and Ellara's relationship is not a slow-burn type of romance. If you are into that this might seem a little fast for you. Definitely its enemies-to-lovers but a little short on the enemies side because of the fast romance. It doesn't end in a cliffhanger.
Lets talk about the spice level which everyone knows you were looking for a review about that:) Well, I would say this book is 16+. There are some kissing scenes which are descriptive enough for me but depends on the maturity of the person reading it.
I am giving 4/5 stars because I would like to have more action filled scenes. I know- I know this is a romance book in a fantasy world but little more action wouldn't hurt. Don't get me wrong the book never bored me, but could be a little more like active. Some scenes could be longer for reader too dive in more of the storyline. You can strip out the magical parts and this could easily become a romance book set in 1800's. (I also love my historical romance if I should say;))
I really would love to see a second book in this world following the people after all of that. So many things I can imagine happenning after the book ends. So many enemies-to-lovers possibilities.The world is so open for expansiton it can easily become a huge world map with many kingdoms. I can already see two more books can be written and this can became a steamy fantasy romance series. (Ps. I really want to see more of Elias later!! :))
It was really cool to have the witches look different than humans. I adored the difference between their apperance. I really loved this touch of the story so I am not going to spoiler this part if you want to see you have to read :) I really would love to see more stories and characters from her magical world. Also I loved all the names in this book, she definitely choose really cool names. Now lets head for the characters reviews.
In my opinion the backstory of the main characters were cut a little short in the beginning. We learned more at the end but I really would love to know a lot more in the beginning to understand the motives of them better. The backstory of the side characters were missing a lot more almost to none but that may indicate another book for this magical world which I am down for it :) Terran and Ellara's relationship is not a slow-burn type of romance. If you are into that this might seem a little fast for you. Definitely its enemies-to-lovers but a little short on the enemies side because of the fast romance. It doesn't end in a cliffhanger.
Lets talk about the spice level which everyone knows you were looking for a review about that:) Well, I would say this book is 16+. There are some kissing scenes which are descriptive enough for me but depends on the maturity of the person reading it.
I am giving 4/5 stars because I would like to have more action filled scenes. I know- I know this is a romance book in a fantasy world but little more action wouldn't hurt. Don't get me wrong the book never bored me, but could be a little more like active. Some scenes could be longer for reader too dive in more of the storyline. You can strip out the magical parts and this could easily become a romance book set in 1800's. (I also love my historical romance if I should say;))
I really would love to see a second book in this world following the people after all of that. So many things I can imagine happenning after the book ends. So many enemies-to-lovers possibilities.The world is so open for expansiton it can easily become a huge world map with many kingdoms. I can already see two more books can be written and this can became a steamy fantasy romance series. (Ps. I really want to see more of Elias later!! :))
September 11, 2021
Note - I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Rating - 4 stars
First of all, I would like to thank Book Sirens and the author Alys Murray for accepting my request to review The Almost Queen - an absolutely delightful, fast-paced political fantasy fiction with romance, occasional mythological characters and magic infusion. Alys has done a fabulous job choosing a beautiful yet a never fail storyline of fantasy fiction filled with witches, dragons, kings, princes and magic, while using the same to address relevant issues of the present era like inter community marriages ( between humans and witches), learning to accept individuals regardless of colour and other differences, how appearances can be deceptive and the most important of all in my pov that family need not be forged just by blood and families forged by blood can backstab you too when you need them the most.
I am not giving a plot outline as the book summary itself is pretty sufficient and anything more than that can become a spoiler. The language and narrative is quite simple, lucid and easy to interpret. Profanity is close to nil while romantic / sexual scenes have been written in a very indirect manner. The only reason I m rating this as 4 stars is because the book had so much potential to have been a nail biting story with sufficient twists and turns. Right now its more of a YA style with bare minimal twists and slightly predictable towards the end. Nevertheless a perfect comfort read for all those aged 15+. Definitely looking forward to reading more from Alys.
Rating - 4 stars
First of all, I would like to thank Book Sirens and the author Alys Murray for accepting my request to review The Almost Queen - an absolutely delightful, fast-paced political fantasy fiction with romance, occasional mythological characters and magic infusion. Alys has done a fabulous job choosing a beautiful yet a never fail storyline of fantasy fiction filled with witches, dragons, kings, princes and magic, while using the same to address relevant issues of the present era like inter community marriages ( between humans and witches), learning to accept individuals regardless of colour and other differences, how appearances can be deceptive and the most important of all in my pov that family need not be forged just by blood and families forged by blood can backstab you too when you need them the most.
I am not giving a plot outline as the book summary itself is pretty sufficient and anything more than that can become a spoiler. The language and narrative is quite simple, lucid and easy to interpret. Profanity is close to nil while romantic / sexual scenes have been written in a very indirect manner. The only reason I m rating this as 4 stars is because the book had so much potential to have been a nail biting story with sufficient twists and turns. Right now its more of a YA style with bare minimal twists and slightly predictable towards the end. Nevertheless a perfect comfort read for all those aged 15+. Definitely looking forward to reading more from Alys.
June 30, 2021
The best parts of Throne of Glass (Manon Blackbeak, obviously), with a healthy serving of The Black Witch, and a tiny dash of A Song of Ice and Fire added into the mix.
The realms have been at war for almost a decade by the time Terran is crowned king, bringing the War of Seven Kings to an end. With all of his siblings buried in the bloodsoaked soil of Aulen, Terran’s most pressing concerns are twofold:
1. Secure the succession to prevent further bloodshed.
2. Crush the witches’ uprising in the barren Outerlands.
Just one problem--he’s not sure where to start. EnterElloren Ellara, a battle-hardened witch whose only goal is to free her people from banishment in the Outerlands where they have experienced discrimination for their green skin and magical powers for the past century. Ellara offers herself to Terran as a safeguard against further war in exchange for the witches’ freedom. The deal they strike will change their world forever.
Ellara reminded me of Manon Blackbeak and a significantly less annoying Celaena Sardothien, and superficially of Elloren Gardner. I appreciated that Ellara is in her late twenties and has spent years on a battlefield instead of being a preternaturally skilled...everything. Terran is justifiably haunted by the choices that he has made and that have been made for him throughout the War of Seven Kings. The characters are interesting and don't feel like stock YA protagonists.
The Almost Queen (the ARC, at least) clocks in under 300 pages and manages to cram a lot of action and intrigue into its pages. The writing quality is completely on par with popular YA writers like Sarah J. Maas and Laurie Forest, and fans of Throne of Glass and The Black Witch will enjoy Alys Murray’s work here.
Due to its fast pace, there are a few reveals that pop out of nowhere and require you to just go with it. I could easily see this book being another 50-100 pages and fleshing out the story in a supremely satisfying way. As it is, it’s definitely worth the read.
Thank you, Sword and Silk Publishing for the advance review copy via BookSirens! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The realms have been at war for almost a decade by the time Terran is crowned king, bringing the War of Seven Kings to an end. With all of his siblings buried in the bloodsoaked soil of Aulen, Terran’s most pressing concerns are twofold:
1. Secure the succession to prevent further bloodshed.
2. Crush the witches’ uprising in the barren Outerlands.
Just one problem--he’s not sure where to start. Enter
Ellara reminded me of Manon Blackbeak and a significantly less annoying Celaena Sardothien, and superficially of Elloren Gardner. I appreciated that Ellara is in her late twenties and has spent years on a battlefield instead of being a preternaturally skilled...everything. Terran is justifiably haunted by the choices that he has made and that have been made for him throughout the War of Seven Kings. The characters are interesting and don't feel like stock YA protagonists.
The Almost Queen (the ARC, at least) clocks in under 300 pages and manages to cram a lot of action and intrigue into its pages. The writing quality is completely on par with popular YA writers like Sarah J. Maas and Laurie Forest, and fans of Throne of Glass and The Black Witch will enjoy Alys Murray’s work here.
Due to its fast pace, there are a few reveals that pop out of nowhere and require you to just go with it. I could easily see this book being another 50-100 pages and fleshing out the story in a supremely satisfying way. As it is, it’s definitely worth the read.
Thank you, Sword and Silk Publishing for the advance review copy via BookSirens! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 2, 2021
The Almost Queen by Alys Murray is a fun, fast-paced political intrigue fantasy. I loved the world and magic system Murray created. Ellara and Terran were interesting, empathetic characters. I was hooked on their story right from the prologue.
Ellara is a green-skinned witch, reviled by the humans in power. All her life, she has been a hated outcast. She isn't sure what possesses her to save the high-born son from a dragon, but she saves his life. Terran gives her a token of thanks in order to acknowledge the debt.
When Ellara is captured in war, she uses the debt to save her life. Terran has lost everything in order to become King, while Ellara's life is on the line to earn freedom for the witches. Terran proposes an alliance to bring together the witches and humans, but neither is sure they'll make it through the political alliance with their hearts intact.
The Almost Queen releases October 12. I highly recommend it for fans of Danielle Jensen, Elise Kova, and romantic YA fantasy.
Ellara is a green-skinned witch, reviled by the humans in power. All her life, she has been a hated outcast. She isn't sure what possesses her to save the high-born son from a dragon, but she saves his life. Terran gives her a token of thanks in order to acknowledge the debt.
When Ellara is captured in war, she uses the debt to save her life. Terran has lost everything in order to become King, while Ellara's life is on the line to earn freedom for the witches. Terran proposes an alliance to bring together the witches and humans, but neither is sure they'll make it through the political alliance with their hearts intact.
The Almost Queen releases October 12. I highly recommend it for fans of Danielle Jensen, Elise Kova, and romantic YA fantasy.
December 30, 2021
I want to start by saying that I did enjoy this book and I recommend it to anyone like me who is a sucker for romance and royalty. Because apart from that, there is not much more to this book
I had two major issues with this book, but they did not ruin the experience for me.
1) (partial spoiler) The end resolution is too similar to the first "resolution" in that I don't understand how the end actually solved anything.
2) There was almost no plot apart from "will these two enemies fall in love." That was okay with me, as I was in the mood for a love story, but I would not pick up this book if I wanted an action packed adventure with some love on the side.
Spicy rating: 2/5
Romance: 4/5
Action: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
I had two major issues with this book, but they did not ruin the experience for me.
1) (partial spoiler) The end resolution is too similar to the first "resolution" in that I don't understand how the end actually solved anything.
2) There was almost no plot apart from "will these two enemies fall in love." That was okay with me, as I was in the mood for a love story, but I would not pick up this book if I wanted an action packed adventure with some love on the side.
Spicy rating: 2/5
Romance: 4/5
Action: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
August 5, 2021
What a fab set-up and intriguing world. Absolutely loved the leads and the chemistry between them, though I would have liked more scenes of their romance developing before trouble hit. I also wanted to know more about the leading lady and her powers as they seemed so great, but I felt she did not get to show this. Marvellous and very satisfying ending... caused a big smile on my face as I fell to sleep :-) I haven't read a book like this without a whopping great big cliffhanger for a while - was a treat to get a full-on HEA.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 29, 2021
Ellara is a witch in a land where magic is hated. The witches are forced to live in exile, but Ellara hopes to someday free them. It’s a little hard to free them when she’s been caught by the king’s soldiers. Luckily, the king happens to be Terran, a boy she saved when they were young. They might be on different sides, but maybe they can make a deal to get them what they both want.
I received an advanced reading copy of The Almost Queen in exchange for an honest review. To read my full review, visit my blog here: https://stephsstoryspace.wordpress.co...
I received an advanced reading copy of The Almost Queen in exchange for an honest review. To read my full review, visit my blog here: https://stephsstoryspace.wordpress.co...
July 10, 2021
The Almost Queen is a great story. About a being who never dreamed of being queen stumbling into just that position. And a story about a king who finds love where he least expects it. And a country divided by hatred but not because of what they thought.
So why did I give it only 4 stars? Because, it was too short. Being that it's not a series it could have went more in depth. I believe the author has more to say about this world, and I really hope she decides to say it, eventually.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
So why did I give it only 4 stars? Because, it was too short. Being that it's not a series it could have went more in depth. I believe the author has more to say about this world, and I really hope she decides to say it, eventually.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 10, 2021
This book has been a journey of love and magic and rebellion.
i adored the mc's they were a bit bland at first but their character development was done spectacularly .
romance , action and new queens all my favorite things .
the plot was a bit predictable but it still got me hooked so that must mean something .
i read the whole book in one setting and it was exactly what i imagined and more .
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
i adored the mc's they were a bit bland at first but their character development was done spectacularly .
romance , action and new queens all my favorite things .
the plot was a bit predictable but it still got me hooked so that must mean something .
i read the whole book in one setting and it was exactly what i imagined and more .
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 16, 2021
This book was an absolute joy to read from the first page to the last . Ellora is an amazing character of strength and conviction and I loved that she is a witch with green skin😊. There were so many universal truths about understanding, prejudice, and trust. The twists in plot hold your attention. I am so glad to have discovered this book!
December 21, 2021
The plot started off strong and I blew through the first several chapters, but it quickly lost its momentum and charm. The world building was incomplete, with convenient explanations for things thrown in randomly and inconsistencies throughout.
The character development was lacking; the main characters were generically written. Enemies to lovers that quickly became insta love with a rushed plot.
The character development was lacking; the main characters were generically written. Enemies to lovers that quickly became insta love with a rushed plot.
June 11, 2021
Thank you to Sword and Silk Books for the ARC!
This was a delightful read, and different from other romance novels I've picked up. The high fantasy realm was an excellent backdrop and I'd love for Alys Murray to explore it some more! Especially with her green-skinned witches and wild dragons.
This was a delightful read, and different from other romance novels I've picked up. The high fantasy realm was an excellent backdrop and I'd love for Alys Murray to explore it some more! Especially with her green-skinned witches and wild dragons.
March 5, 2022
DNF at 28%
September 26, 2022
A spell-binding forbidden love story with so many twists.
August 27, 2025
Fun entertaining witch story! A witch romance with a King what could be better!
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