Content Warnings: Violence/gore, murder, mutilation, assassination, child brides, sexual harassment, mention of rape, and suicide.

Do you ever stumble onto the summary of a book you’ve never heard of and instantly know you need to read it? That’s what happened when I was found the summary of this book. I mean look at the name of the trilogy, read that first sentence, and tell me you don’t want to jump right in too?

I bought book one early last summer and had book two gifted to me in July for my birthday, by then I saw a few people talking about the series on Tiktok and decided I didn’t want to dive in until I owned all three books. So when tax returns came I knew it was time to order the final book so I could dive into this fantasy.

From start to finish I never knew what direction this book was taking and that was so exciting! In most books I read, though I may not know the journey, I feel like the endings can be somewhat predictable but with this book, I honestly had no idea where we’d end up. I absolutely loved that I never knew what twist or turn I was approaching.

The book goes with a single narrative, that of Queen Talyien, which I really enjoyed. We get to see everything as Talyien sees it which gave a lot of mystery to the story, as we only got to know what Tali knew. Tali encounters a lot of different characters during her journey in book one and I can’t wait to see some of them as she continues her journey into book two. So many of the characters Tali meets had me bouncing back and forth emotionally, do we trust them or do we not trust them?

As I try my hardest to give spoiler-free reviews and only tell you how the book made me feel I hope you’re okay with me being so vague. I devoured this book within 36 hours of starting it, quite literally two different reading sessions. If I’d started in the early afternoon this book could easily have been read in one sitting with the grip it had on me. Having an, almost, seven-year-old means I can no longer stay up until the wee hours reading without consequence.

If you’re looking for an adult fantasy with a badass MC who radiates Queen energy even covered in blood and dirt this is a book you want to read!