I thought this was a solid follow-up to the first novel. The world is still rich and intriguing, the plot is still flowing at a good clip, and the magical elements are still going strong and expanding.

By a slim margin, I think I enjoyed this more than the first, and I think that's because there was more action and and a far more able-bodied heroine. Kali is embracing who she is as a fire bhuta and as a queen of a failing empire with no husband. I appreciated the fact she wasn't so reluctant about her lot in life. Sometimes I got a little lost with her thought process in how she thought she was the only one to save her people, and at times it was a bit of a stretch for her to say the things she did in regards to it, but it was an overall easy to follow storyline. The dual POV between Kali and Deven threw me at first, but it served a good purpose and really drove the story along.

The trials in this book were far more exciting than the first. In the first, we as readers were just spectators to the central plot of the battle for rani rank. In this book, Kali finally gets to do stuff! And not only that, she gets to be a badass with her powers at last. With there being different trials over several days, it was far more entertaining than her watching people die and moping about. In fact, it reminded me a bit more of the Triwizard tournament in Harry Potter with Hunger Games elements. And that last trial? Now that was a fight worthy of being written.

The new introductions were great all around. A new empire in the jungle was a setting I found myself picturing far better than I did the desert one. The new characters were unique from one another and enjoyable with their different dynamics amongst one another. With the dual POV, individual characters like Prince Ashwin had me questioning their motives and whether they were good or bad, and I enjoyed that immensely.

Things I disliked are few, but the two I had an issue with were annoying. First, the way King does her recaps. There was no elegance or nuance to them. I finished the first and jumped straight into the second, so everything was fresh in my mind. I was treated to several block paragraphs that were so info-dumpy and awful to read. This happened, and then this, then that, which led to this, and this and this and this. Okay, great, thanks. Second was Kali's attitude towards what happened in the last book. King takes it and runs ten miles farther with it than she should. In several instances, Kali talks about how she is done with arenas and she'll never do it again and it was terrible. But all I can think is Girl, you were in there all of five minutes and you barely even had to fight! Calm down. I know it's needed, but it think it could have been better done.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I'm going to wait a week or two before jumping into the third, but I look forward to it.

The Fire Queen by Emily R. King is an amazing follow up to The Hundredth Queen. Fair warning, this book can't be read without reading the first book or a lot of events and conversations won't make sense.

Kalinda is finally free from her new husband but her country is falling to pieces. She is off on an adventure to find her late husband's first born Prince Ashwin. The last thing that Kalinda wants is to be Queen. On this strange journey, Kalinda's group splits up and Kalinda is taken straight to the Prince.

When Kalinda arrives at the Janardanian Palace, she finds it hard to trust anyone. Prince Ashwin wants Kalinda to fight in another tournament which will result in Ashwin's wedding to the winner. All of Kalinda's friends have been taken captive as soon as they arrived. Of course, Kalinda doesn't even know they arrived. Ashwin and Kalinda are forbidden to see their people until after the tournament is over.

I really enjoyed the second installment of this book. The Bhuta warriors are treated a bit differently int his book. I am sure book three is going to be amazing and I can't wait to read it.

The action packed sequel to The Hundredth Queen. Told in chapters alternating between Kali and Deven, this story starts a few weeks after the end of the first book. Tarachand has fallen into a war with Hastin’s Bhuta army. Kali, Deven, and their friends are outrunning Hastin’s soldiers and searching for Prince Ashwin. When they are running out of places to look for the prince, two young Bhutas find them and say they were sent to take them to Prince Ashwin. The prince is hiding from Hastin in the neighboring country of Janardan. An attack from Hastin’s soldiers forces the group to split up and Kali heads to Janardan alone. Once she arrives at the royal palace, she learns the prince brought her there to compete in a tournament. The winner of this tournament will be the first wife of Prince Ashwin and their country will help Tarachand win the war against Hastin. Each of the four bordering countries will have a challenger. At first Kali wants nothing to do with another tournament, but when she sees how the Janardanians treat the Tarachand people who have fled from Hastin’s war, she knows she must fight for them. The tournament consists of three trials and Kali must advance through each trial to win. All her challengers are Bhutas, which tests Kali’s newly learned Bhuta skills. Each country has a reason for winning the tournament and Kali has to watch her back. She still has the Zhaleh and is not even sure she can trust Ashwin. Deven arrives in Janardan later and he is immediately put into camp for Tarachand soldiers. When Kali finds him, he pushes her away and decides to stay in the camp to regain his soldiers’ trust. Deven knows the Janardanian soldiers cannot be trusted and that the Tarachand soldiers need to escape the camp. He has to figure out who he can rely on so they can all escape.
This sequel continues with the action and the excellent characters from the first book. The story moves fast and keeps the reader engaged. The new characters are very well written. The characters from the first book are still wonderful and consistent with their actions. The new settings in Janardan and the jungle are well described. The reader can visualize differences between the two countries. The dual first person narrative gives you a look into Deven’s perspective as well as Kali’s. Since they are apart most of the story, you do not get much overlap of the events in previous chapters. Deven and Kali each have different experiences. You will have to read the first book to fully understand what is happening in this sequel. The story does have fighting scenes and a little romance. The fighting scenes could be violent and bloody, but nothing overly gory though. This sequel has no racy scenes, just kissing. This sequel does not have exactly have a love triangle as stated in the synopsis. While Ashwin may have romantic feelings for Kali, Kali only loves Deven. She is actually torn between her duty to her people and having the peaceful life she wants, not torn between her affections. This story does end on cliffhanger, with Kali, Deven and their friends on the run from a much worse threat than before. I really liked this sequel and am eagerly awaiting the third book. Fans of Red Queen, Throne of Glass, Frostblood, and Rebel of the Sands would really enjoy this series.

The thing I loved most about this book is that Kali is no longer a reluctant hero. Her journey in THE HUNDREDTH QUEEN was an admirable fight for survival that was exhilarating and painful (in the best way) to watch. But now in THE FIRE QUEEN, Kali knows what she wants. She has embraced who she is, and she isn't afraid to fight for her people. I loved reading the next step in her journey, and I can't wait to see we're Emily R. King takes her next!

this was even better than the first one! loved it! and am very excited for THE ROGUE QUEEN!

I loved this book so much! It was so interesting and fun! I hate that I would get so anxious and would have to put it down because my ship, or the action would get to much for me. I love this series and I think it really does get better with each book, Kali is probably one of my favorite characters to read about. She’s so badass and strong. I admire so much about her. Can’t wait to read on in the future! Blog review will come soon!

I’ve finally finished my ARC of The Fire Queen and I’m not really sure how writing this review is going to go, but we’re about to find out. I wasn’t super pleased with this book, in comparison to the first, and honestly I’m really debating even reading the third. If you look in the dictionary under “second book syndrome” you’ll find a picture of this book. I gave this one three out of five stars.

3stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Skyscape and Two Lions publishing for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.

Synopsis

Kalinda, Deven, Yatin, Natesa, Mathura and Brac are all on the run. Hastin, the bhuta warlord, has taken over Vanhi and is now hunting them and the Zhaleh they stole. For the majority of the first half of the book, they are trying to find Rajah Tarek’s son, Prince Ashwin, in the hopes that he has some plan to take back Vanhi. On their way to find him, they encounter Opal and Rohan, two galers who come to bring them to Prince Ashwin. They are about to leave when Anjali, Hastin’s daughter, appears to take them to her father. Kalinda gets separated from the rest of the group, taken to Iresh, the imperial city of the sultanate of Janardan, early to escape Anjali while the rest of her group tries to fight her.

When the rest of her group arrives, Kalinda is never told, and Deven and Yatin are thrown in what amounts to a prison camp. Brac and Mathura never came with the group, so they escaped their fates. But Natesa is brought to Kalinda and basically becomes her handmaiden.

Basically we find out there is going to be another competition to be the first Rani to King Ashwin, and Kalinda has to compete even though she has no intention of ever marrying Ashwin. The winner basically gets to become an ally to Ashwin, and becomes their trade partner once Ashwin gains back his country. Because of this, the different countries have each sent a candidate to compete. Only Sultan Kuval has no intention of letting anyone but his daughter win, and tries to influence the competition at every turn, especially where Kalinda is involved. The rest of the book is Kalinda going through the competition, meeting the other competitors, and finding out what’s actually happening to her people.

My Thoughts

The Storyline

-->This came across very Hunger Games-y to me. Recycling the same story from the first book but putting a spin on it. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing but something to consider.
-->The first half of the book, the part before the competition, was so drawn out. It was so unnecessary. If you want to add length to your book, come up with a more interesting subplot, or write more scenes from Deven’s perspective. Don’t just fill it up with stuff no one cares about.
-->To build on my last point, I would have given my left arm to have some POV from Vanhi, maybe even of Anjali. I would love to see what is going on with Hastin and whether or not Rajah Tarek’s other wives and courtesans are still alive and if they are, what they’re going through. Heck, if not from Vanhi, a Brac point of view to jump to to see what’s happening to the rest of the people fleeing from Hastin.

The World

-->I liked exploring more of Kalinda’s world, but I wish we would have explored more of the cultural differences between Vanhi and Janardan. I understand a lot of the cultural notes would be similar, but I wish she would have gone more into even giving descriptions of the castle and stuff like that. I really only had a vague idea that I made up in my head about a lot of the surroundings.

Characters

-->I loved Indah and Tinley, they were my two favorite characters in this book and I didn’t get enough of them. The whole thing that happened with Bya, Tinley’s bird, broke my freaking heart. Indah came across as a friend to Kali and a genuinely good person. I like that she didn’t actually give a flying poo whether or not she became Ashwin’s wife. I liked that she was more concerned about protecting Kali and the Zhaleh than anything. To be honest, where Kali’s character failed me in this book Indah made up for it.
-->Brother Shaan’s character threw me off. In the first book he came across friendly and helpful and in this book I was waiting for him to stab Kali in the back, although we more heard about him than actually saw him in this book. A lot of his moves, like keeping the fact that Deven and Yatin were being held in the camp from Kali, came across as shady and untrustworthy. I also think his total lack of interest in the Zhaleh was weird for a priest.
-->I still think Ashwin is a shady motherf*cker. I know he proved himself not to be, supposedly, but I’m still waiting for him to do something else to prove himself to be a bad guy. That thing that hastened the end of the book that he did came to mind for him way too easily, and to anyone else it would have looked like he was trying to make sure the bad guy didn’t get what they wanted, but I think he was just mad that the other guy thought of it first.
-->Yatin. Sweet, sweet Yatin. He is so sweet on Natesa it makes me cry. That one scene at about 76% (I can’t say what it was or it will super spoil it) broke my heart and I seriously hope that they develop Yatin x Natesa in the next book.
-->The rest of the characters I was kind of MEH about. Deven was being an idiot for the majority of the book, Sultan Kuval was interesting but kind of came across as just “generic badguy”, and Citra filled the role of “bitchy girl” that Natesa originally played.

Other Thoughts That I Don’t Know How to Classify

-->Where is the feminism from the first book? Where is the sense of sisterhood? This was literally my favorite part about the first book and it totally flew out the window in this one. In fact, Kalinda herself makes a sexist comment at one point to goad one of the bad guys, saying “My husband wasn’t afraid of a woman.” Like wtf? Way to go back on the principles the character had in the first book.
-->There was also this scene where she has to ride bare-back on an elephant, and she thinks about the fact that when she rode elephants in Vanhi, they had basically an attached saddle with like a canopy thing. But I was literally waiting for her to say something like “savages” or “peasants”. I wouldn’t be surprised because Kali’s character wasn’t consistent with the first book, why wouldn’t she be a total crap person now?
-->I know she was supposed to be hiding her burner powers or whatever, but I still thought she would be practicing and that we would see something related to her powers throughout the book. We didn’t. And she suddenly is able to do things that she failed at when she practiced in the beginning of the book with Brac, when it comes to the competition. Can you say inconsistent?
-->HOWEVER. The ending. That ending was beautiful magnificence. The DRAGON. The magic. I mean wow. That ending literally saved the book for me.

I haven’t read a book this frustrating since Shadow and Bone. Everything that I loved about the first book completely disappeared in this book. It’s like the author didn’t give a crap that this book had inconsistent characters, or that it recycled basically the same story with a different ending, or that everything THAT I LOVED in the first book is just gone. GAH I’m literally so frustrated I could scream. I’ll read the third book just to see what happens but I’m honestly pretty pissed off since I touted the magnificence of the first book so much and this one ended up being, for the most part, hot garbage. That third book better make up for what this book lacked.

<b>WrensReads Review:</b>

Really, I don’t know why I expected something more from book two. I guess the cover just told me to read it because it was so pretty. I really hope more people enjoy this series. It just isn’t up my alley.

We received more than one Point Of View in this book, but it didn’t change the predictability of it all. The imagery is pretty but that’s about it. The writing isn’t phenomenal, but she does draw a pretty image in my head. The world building was good, but it just wasn’t enough. Sometimes I flipped the page and all of a sudden had no idea what was happening; it just moved at weird speeds throughout the book.

And of course, the instalove for anyone and everyone that meets Kali was absolutely annoying. It’s 2017. Instalove should be outlawed.

<img src="http://wrensreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/59cfbfab7c053682657157.gif" alt="" width="350" height="195" class="" />

This series just isn’t for me. I really, really hope other people like this series. It has a lot of potential but it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

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THE FIRE QUEEN takes the battle royal concept to a fictional and fantastical desert empire whose people worship gods based on Sumerian deities. This time, the teenagers involved are all women and capable of great feats of both magic and strength, which is what drew me to the book initially. The second in The Hundredth Queen series, it does not stray far from the original conceit, as Kalinda is again thrust into a tournament that puts her life and her people at risk. The stakes are raised with the introduction of a love triangle and with multiple people vying for control of the empire.

Unfortunately, there are also multiple characters fighting for space within the story. THE FIRE QUEEN suffers from an abundance of characters that are never fully fleshed out. For example, in the first four pages, nine characters are introduced or referred to, not including Kalinda. I made a cheat sheet to keep track of how everyone was related and had to frequently add more characters to it with only the roughest idea as to their personalities.

As for the love triangle, I only ever rooted for Kalinda to be free from her obligations to fight and to be single. I never bought into her romance with Deven, her guard and lover from the first book. Their relationship is highly problematic from the beginning due to differences in power. Throughout THE FIRE QUEEN, he refuses to acknowledge Kalinda’s past trauma, disapproves of her using her powers, withholds information, and punishes her for his own jealousy. Just one item from that list would be enough for me to question the romance, but with all of those factors, it was difficult to even like Deven.

Kalinda, on the other hand, is admirable. She fights for her throne, hoping that her actions will improve her people’s lives. I only wish that her romance options and the tournament challenges she faced were worth her time.

There was nothing wrong with The Fire Queen but at the same time, there was nothing excellent about it for me so I was just sort of reading along and not hating it but also not really being excited by any of the events. This sequel does a great job of refreshing your memory of The Hundredth Queen which is definitely necessary because while the general idea of the Tyrant Rajah having a hundred wives and Kalinda (the main character) being the hundredth is still clear to me I definitely forgot plenty about the levels of power at play and the add-on of people having actual powers but being shunned for them.

Kalinda is now a queen after the events of the previous book when she married the Rajah. He then met his death just hours after their wedding night by a vengeful Kalinda and to make matters more complicated rebel bhutas invaded and seized the Turquoise Palace. Now with the empire at war, it somehow falls on Kalinda to find Prince Ashwin, the Rajah's son. Worryingly, Prince Ashwin seems to have the idea that she will now marry him and rule by his side but Kalinda is firmly against that as she had fallen in love with the Captain Deven Naik, who has now been stripped of his rank and jailed for treason by Prince Ashwin himself! Kalina hopes for nothing more than a quiet life of peace alongside the man she loves but that will have to wait. 

Apparently, the quickest way to form peace and bring down this war before it goes too far is by hosting another tournament that focuses on the skills and attributes of one woman from each of the surrounding nations with one competitor winning, marrying Price Ashwin and uniting the empire. Despite Kalinda's firm stance against the tournament (with one being plenty enough for her), it is the only way Prince Ashwin will vow to free Deven from the laws that bind him but it also means going back into something she never wanted to do again. 

When it's written like that it sounds exciting and so similar to thrilling books like Throne of Glass and Red Queen that I really enjoyed but when I was reading it I didn't feel it flowing that way. The overall plot was an exciting sequel I was looking forward to but when I started reading it my mind often strayed away and the words weren't holding me. I'm sure a reader that read the first book and then the second one straight after would find it much more exciting but I think the problem was that it had just been too long for me and without certain books you're so-so about you really can't get into them after you've been away from the world too long. The Fire Queen ended on a really beautiful, hopeful point but I think this is the end of the series for me.

I was completely taken with The Hundredth Queen and have been longing for the follow up. Sadly, this second installment fell short of my expectations. It seemed like the typical middle book syndrome. It's certainly not a terrible read but a majority of the storyline is repetitive of the first book. I longed for new adventures and plots. Also, so much of the book revolves around misunderstandings; which is a pet peeve of mine as a reader. While it's fast paced, it often times felted rushed and incomplete. Despite some of my annoyances, Kalinda continues to be interesting character. I enjoyed her struggles with personal feelings and sense of duty.

I still feel invested in the series and plan to read the last installment. However, I will hold off any recommendations until after finishing the trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for my advanced review copy.

❝ As I look out at the trail–worn valley, the refugees’ weary footsteps carve blame into my conscience. The empire has changed since I became the rajah’s one hundredth queen. Tarachand is gloomier, full of desperate people and massacres of the innocent. I find nothing dignified or noble about being the inciter of heartache.❞


Honestly, this was such a great follow-up to the series. I absolutely loved the first book, The Hundredth Queen, and the strong female characters in the book. This book didn’t have quite the same feeling as the first book, but only because it wasn’t as focused on female oppression, but on saving their country.

In this sequel, Kalinda is trying to come to terms with her role in Tarek’s death as well as her part in the decline of Tarachand. More than anything, she’s haunted by the things she suffered in the palace as Tarek’s one hundredth queen and by his death. It wears on her conscience and kind of holds her back at times.

Meanwhile, Deven gets to be a bit annoying. He can’t seem to overcome losing his rank and the respect of his men. Even while he does not regret protecting the kindred and doing what’s best for the throne, he can’t let go of his old rank. He also seems very hot and cold when it comes to his relationship with Kalinda. He shows a lot of affection and then other times he’s pushing her away because she’s the kindred or because he can’t fully accept that she’s a Burner.

We also get to meet prince Ashwin in this book. His presence causes a definite strain between Deven and Kalinda for various reasons, one of them being that Ashwin has first rights to Kalinda… which basically means that he can claim her as his kindred. Things were also tense between Ashwin and Kalinda because of how much he looked like his father. His father’s legacy was a shadow he had to work very hard to step out of.

❝ I link my elbow through his, worry turning my lips downward. Ashwin said his mantle of authority weighs lighter on him when I am by his side. He claims he is acting in the best interest of our people, but when he smiles at me, he is not thinking of his empire.

He smiles at me as though I am his entire world.❞


One thing that I didn’t enjoy about Ashwin was how he seemed to hold Kalinda up on a pedestal. He acted like he knew her very well, and that she was perfect. He idealized her so much that it virtually seemed like insta-love from him towards Kalinda.

I also enjoyed the tournament aspect coming back around in this book. Not only did we get to see some badass females at work, but it also upped the stakes for Ashin and Kalinda. And, we were able to see outside of Tarachand. This was something I was excited about because I wanted to know about the other countries/territories and how they dealt with bhutas.

While I did kind of see the ending coming, it was still an intense moment because I kept wishing it wouldn’t happen. I’m looking forward to the next book and seeing where the adventure goes with our characters, if they’ll be able to save Tarachand or if it will fall.

I generally always like book 1 better than book 2 but not in this case! I loved book 1 but this one was even better! I can't wait for book 3! I could not put this book down!

I was unable to get through the first book, because of a couple reasons. I was unaware at first that this was a second book in a series, I haven't read this one because of my issues with the first

If I could summarize this book in one word, it would be implosive. Everything you thought you knew about these characters is flipped-upside down. Relationships are tested, and Kalinda will never be the same after this novel, and who she ends up with will refresh readers.

This book tests Kalinda’s abilities as a Burner while taking her through the hardest tests she’s been in yet. Emily builds a tournament reminiscent of The Hunger Games where each obstacle gets more dangerous, and tests the limits of all competitors by introducing motivators you don’t see coming.

Kalinda’s in new territory and unsure of who to trust and the only person she trusts, Deven, is imprisoned in a refugee camp unable to help her. Although her Rajah is gone Kalinda is still plagued by the nightmares of what she left behind in Vanhi. Emily did a wonderful job of showing just how vulnerable Kalinda is in this new territory and the internal struggle she has in learning how to trust again after what she went through in Vanhi. Kalinda is put through some of the most difficult tests with the odds stacked against her but it only makes her stronger. Kalinda is one of my favorite female MC’s in the YA world because she doesn’t waiver from her beliefs and truly wants the best for her people, even if it means making alliances with the those she’d never expected.

Who wants another love interest? Ashwin, the new Rajah, resembles his father Tarek but does he carry the same cold callous intentions that his father, the Tyrant, did? Or, does he have more genuine intentions for ruling his empire? Kalinda is forced to face her fears whenever she looks at Ashwin but knows that she must overcome them in order to save her people.

We are introduced to new characters in this second installment and it only adds to the amazing group of people Emily has brought into our lives through her books. Each character is so dynamic and brings something different to the table. They all strive for a better world, where Bhuta’s aren’t persecuted for who they are. I think Emily did a fantastic job of showing the individuality of each character and how they contribute to Kalinda’s goal of making the world a more accepting and better place for everyone.

Very enjoyable! I think I liked it better than the first one 🙂 the story is excellent and slightly fewer bits I found difficult. I really like how the politics play out and they way we see Kali as a bit of a stronger, surer character than in the first book. I also liked getting to see the tournament play out, and learning more about the world – the way different people have different beliefs and prejudices.

I wasn’t terribly keen on the way the prince and brother Shaan both manipulated people, especially Kali. I’d also have liked to have seen slightly more about Deven and Natesa and the camps, but that’s about it 🙂

Looking forward to the third instalment next year.

Such a wonderful sequel to The Hundreth Queen. I adore Kalinda, with my whole heart. This series never fails me, I know I’m going to start this series and love it!! Keep them coming!

If you liked The Hundredth Queen, you'll probably enjoy this just as much, if not more. The overall plot is a little redundant in Catching Fire fashion (i.e. Oh we had a tournament in book 1? Let's have another in book 2!), but there was enough strong character development to make this a 3-star read and overall "pick" for me. Kalinda's struggle between duty and freedom was strongly written. Instead of coming across as an indecisive, flighty girl, she's portrayed as methodically assessing her choices as new information is revealed to her, and never loses her own sense of strength. I appreciated how she understands that her immediate distate for Prince Ashwin based on his startling similarity to Tarek is unfair, and she puts forth a solid effort to get to know him as an individual. The choice between Ashwin and Deven is representative of her larger choice between duty and freedom, and I like that Kali doesn't allow her emotions to rule that choice. Some very interesting secondary characters are introduced from the surrounding nations, and I'm interested to see these ally?/enemy? nations further developed in The Rogue Queen.

This one picks up 2 months after the ending of the first book. This one picked up the pace and we find Kali and her friends escaping and going across the desert.
Although book one drew me in this one did it better. You can tell how much the author has matured as a writer and man I couldn't put this one down! I really loved reading about Kali and her friends once again and I love how much she has grown as a character.

Kalinda and Captain Deven Naik are still going on with their simmering romance that I really hope we get even more of. I love that it wasn't really love at first sight and that it did take a little while for them to fall for each other.

The world that the author has created was wonderful in this one we get to see so much more of the empire than we did in book one and I hope that continues into book three.

This one has a lot of twists, turns, and a few surprises that you just don't know what is really going on and who you can trust. The Bhuta powers in this one worked out even better than book one and man o man you will be at the edge of your seat I know I was.

I really loved where this story is going and I can't wait to see what we get in book three coming out this Feb.

One thing I will say that this one did not suffer from the normal book two's it was engaging and fantastic!