A wonderful continuation to this series!

Queen's Catacombs picks up where A Contest of Queens left off, with Jacs adjusting to her new role as queen. The book keeps the plot moving and continues to develop the charming cast of characters we met in the first book. Of particular note is the relationship between two queer characters, which is handled very well and is very sweet.

As with the first book, Bartlett continues to make meaningful commentary on our society by flipping the traditional power dynamics we see in our own world.

The narrator is once again fantastic, and made the audiobook an absolute joy to listen to.

Going in, I did think this series was just a duology and that this book would be wrapping up the story. It became very evident when there was only 30 minutes of the book left that this was not the case. However, I am very much looking forward to book three and seeing what Bartlett will do with these characters and the world.

I remember reading the first book in this series about a year ago, and I finished it on March 1, 2023. At the beginning of this book, it took me a little while to remember all that had happened previously. I recall liking the first book, but it took me some time to get into the story. However, this book is different. It starts with a bang and keeps going full tilt until the very end. The primary emotion that came to the forefront was rage. Why, you may ask? Jacs won her Queendom by the contest, and the right to rule is hers. However, everyone seems to make her life more challenging. They don't take her seriously, undermine her, and hear that she is having a hard time but dismiss it. I wanted to go to her land and shake everyone there.

In the first book, the stakes followed the contest, and Jacs wanting to make things better for the Queendom. However, this one had higher stakes. Lives were on the line, and so many deceptions needed to be uncovered and proven around every corner. This makes the book less action and a bigger emotional joy ride. We see many points of view in this book, so it's not just Jacs and an occasional other person. We have varied views so we have some action with the Queen's guards and get a view of the Queendom. I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I enjoyed the emotional turmoil, the fact that the author wrote a story that made me feel angry, and the growth of Jacs and her closest friends. I like the side characters who are going through difficult times as well, even Hera, who is deeper than we realize. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I recommend it to anyone who loves a little suspense in their fantasy.

It pains me to only give this 3,5 stars, because I loved the first one so much.
But that is also on me, since I just forgot what happened in the first one, and the attachment to the characters as just completely gone.
This story sometimes gripped me by the throat, but most of the time I just forgot what I was listening to and lost track of the story.

I will for sure keep up with the author, because I do believe they have such great ideas and are skilled in setting a mood.
Also the way she played with words, because in this story they live in a queendom, was fascinating to watch.

So: a recommendation, but read the books back to back.

Queen's Catacombs by Jordan H. Bartlett is the second book in The Frean Chronicles, taking place right after the events in Contest of Queens and navigating upon its unresolved conflicts while also expanding on the lore and worldbuilding. Although Jacs and Connor are still the main PoVs, there are also some other familiar faces that become PoV characters, giving us insight on the conflicts that happen parallel to the main plot.

I was looking at my review for Contest of Queens (CoQ) and was reminded that I mentioned how it tackled topics such as leadership, loyalty and love, and in a way I find it interesting how we could say that in Queen’s Catacombs (Q’sC) the same topics are still quite present but in a different way: If CoQ explored leadership from the perspective of what it takes to be a good leader, Q’sC focused on how it is to be a leader without real power; if CoQ explored loyalty towards new acquaintances, Q’sC focused instead on loyalty towards old friends and family; and if CoQ explored on cultivating love, Q’sC focused on enduring love. Although the topics that are being explored are, in broad terms, the same ones, Queen’s Catacombs took a more mature and less lighthearted approach to them, which is quite fitting since the narrative and plot is also darker and more mature than its predecessor.

When it comes to the romance among the two main characters, I must say I was gratifyingly surprised in how both characters kept their own personality, views and agency instead of having the minor main character becoming an extension of the major main character as it is commonly found in many books. It made their romance feel more real and organic, showing not only the occasions in which they are happy and at peace with each other, but also the times in which they argue over their different views and ultimately meet in the middle. I thought it was a very healthy and realistic depiction of how romance works.
If I had one complaint to point out it would be how flat the antagonists felt, and how at times it felt like the main characters lost all brain capacity around them. The former is more of a personal preference, since I like when villains/antagonists’ motives are explained or hinted at in the narrative, but the latter was a bit embarrassing. There were instances in which even Jacs (who had no reason to trust them) was questioning her own stance despite having received a heavily censored letter from her mother via them. Yes, Jacs, they do not care for you and they just want to reign through you instead of with you. Do not doubt your first impressions just because they were not hostile to you once.

Karissa Vacker, the audiobook narrator, delivered once again a stellar performance and I honestly cannot find a single thing to complain about her.

Overall, I found Queen’s Catacombs to be a rather enjoyable read, despite how at times it frustrated me with some of what was happening, and I am looking forward to reading the next instalment when it comes out.

Thank you very much to CamCat Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an Audio-ARC!

Great audiobook and story with interesting plot that adds adventure and mystery.

The narrator brings life to the story and makes you feel emersed in the tale.

I love this book series! The twist on typical fantasy where it is a woman’s world was very well thought out. Jordan didn’t just flip roles but they totally and completely thought out the process. Lines like you have to be able to give life to take life just shows how thought out the concept is.
I love the continued story of Jacs, the low born who is not queen as she learns that getting to be queen is not as simple as she thought. She has to learn to navigate the counselors, balance her friendship with people from the upper realm, and the lower realm, and really fight for the betterment of the queendom she envisions.
My only negative critiques is this book felt like half a story. There were so many loose end and questions left hanging that the story didn’t feel complete. Yes it makes me want to read the next book however I don’t like the story wasn’t wrapped up as nicely as the ending for the first book.

Thanks are due to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for an advance copy of this audiobook.

This is the second volume Jordan H. Bartlett’s YA series set in a mythical realm, the Queendom of Frea, in which the traditional gendered hierarchy is inverted. The first volume focused on two young people coming of age in very different settings. Cornelius, usually called Connor, is a teenaged prince whose mother, Ariel, rules the Queendom. The Queendom is peopled by the nobility and other ruling class members and is literally elevated far above the Lower Realm, peopled by the impoverished common folk, or Lowerites. Only a heavily guarded and fearfully high bridge connects them and the Upoer Realm, high in the cliffs above them, and it cannot be used without permission. By that book’s end, the two had met and become devoted to each other. Jacs was by then apprenticing with Master Bruna Leschi, a genius inventor. Then Queen Ariel was murdered on a rare trip to the Lower World. With no female heir, the crown had to be decided by a series of risky competitive games among lords (all women) of the Upper Realm. The most terrifying of these contests took place in the catacombs of this book’s story. Jacs was the first lower-born contestant, and her victory made her the first lower-born queen. Meanwhile, the two most important women in her life, her mother Maria and Master Leschi, disappear and are presumed to have been kidnapped by forces opposing both Jacs and the entire concept of a matriarchal society. These are the Purple Hoods, who continue their menace in the second volume.

As this book opens, young Queen Jacs and her closest adviser, Prince Connor, are feeling the effects of the tumultuous victory. Although her servants, knights and guards (all female) are dutiful, many among the nobles of are discontented and resentful, troubled by the overturned power structure and anxious about the Queen’s avowal to rule all her people fairly and equally. Particularly troublesome are the four nobles of her ruling council, with whom she struggles constantly as they try to keep things as they are and she tries to make progressive changes. Connor is caught in a particular dilemma, representing both the old world and the new in ways that affect their personal relationship.

Book 2 is about these internal struggles and court intrigues, but also about the appearance of a new threat that seems connected to the disappearance of her mother and her mentor, but also that of an increasing number of Lowerite boys and young men. The Lower Realm is growing restless to see the new Queen’s promises take hold. Some in both realms are turning disaffection into radicalism. When a gala celebrating the Queen dissolves into violence and the kidnapping of key members of her entourage, the intrepid Jacs risks all to travel the catacombs again. As Book Two ends, she has uncovered some important information. She has also made a devil’s bargain. Book 3 will have to follow that through, and also, as the epilogue shows, bring Jacs and her allies to confrontation with a very dark threat.

This is an excellent follow-up to the opening book of the trilogy, showing the maturity of the young people on both world levels, and the conflicts that face Jacs and Connor as they try to fit in both worlds, to love each other as equals, and to build something better together. The gender reversal is provocative, and the simple fact that I had to think about gender at every mention of the Lords and other female courtiers simply confirms that. The Queendom is historically a matriarchy, and male representatives were removed from the Council of Four some centuries past. Felt to be « too emotional » and conflict-prone, they were never allowed back. Names, titles and propertied are bequeathed through the maternal line. There is a wide range of sexual identities, with several same sex unions and instances of bisexuality. But this is no feminist nirvana. Bartlett shows how unquestioning adherence to the status quo is always damaging, and that women are not necessarily more compassionate, equitable, and peaceful than men when it comes to ruling. This book has mystery, magic, love, betrayal, and a contest of light and dark, good and evil, that will captivate readers of any age.

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I seem to be making quite the habit lately of starting book series out of order. That is what happened here with Queen's Catacombs, as it is book two in a series and I've not read or even listened to book one. This is important information, as many of my struggles with this book would probably have been non-existent had I simply read the first book first. The biggest of those was keeping all the characters positions and relationship to Jacs straight (although some of that problem may also be attributed to the fact that I was listening to the book rather than reading).

Queen's Catacombs is what you would get if you wrote a fantasy novel with Barbieland as your original world inspiration. All of the positions that are typically filled by men in our historical or typical fantasy worlds are filled by women in this novel, a fact I was constantly having to remind myself of when titles like Lord and Master were being used, and my initial inclination was to put a male face in that place. And the oppressive female dominance feels just as wrong in this book as it does in the recent Barbie movie.

Even with my struggles putting faces to names, I was absolutely drawn into this story and the intrigue of the queendom. I wanted to see how Jacs would solve her problems and assert the authority that she was supposed to have, even though the Council of Four was not interested in a Lowerite having any real power.

The narration felt like it fit the main character really well, but it didn't feel like there was much difference in the way most of the female characters spoke. The male characters voices did have a slightly deeper tone and felt at least natural adjacent as it was narrated by a woman.

Overall I give Queen's Catacombs 3.9856 out of 5 stars.

The second book in the Frean Chronicles, I’ve been anticipating this book for about a year, ever since I listened to Contest of Queens. And this follow up doesn’t disappoint. While it shifts to more of a political mystery setup, it has the same intrigue and fast pacing as the previous book! Also, the cover is beautiful!

Despite her wins in the first book, Jacs finds herself in an equally powerless situation as she was previously, being controlled by four council women, who are the true rulers of Frea. Add on blackmail, missing boys, the lower realm issues, and some mysterious surplus of eggs, we have ourselves another grand adventure.

Jacs is as determined as ever as she is trying to make things better for the whole queendom, but it’s clear she’s out of her league. So she has to level up several times in order to enact the change she desires. She also has to handle her relationship with Connor, which takes some more focus, but doesn’t dominate the plot. Connor also has to deal with his place in the queendom, with him and Jacs starting to butt heads. We also get POV chapters of some of the knights, adding to the flavor of the world. Each of the characters stood out and played their part and I want more of them! Especially Jacs as she learns and grows.

The prose was easy to follow, with the narrator, Karissa Vacker doing another great job with her vocal range and inflections and emotions. The world building of a matriarchal queendom was expanded on with some new surprises, and felt lived in and I love how it examines gender roles. Even though Jacs rules the realm, there’s a lot that she doesn’t know and leads to her making some critical mistakes. While the first half is mostly political intrigue, the second shifts to a more adventure vibe and every chapter was more gripping than the last. The last few chapters had quite the twists and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to see how this continues.

If you’re up for a YA High Fantasy with matriarchal rule, plenty of secrets with some romantic ties sprinkled in, The Frean Chronicles is a can’t miss series.

WOW I loved this one! I was a huge fan of the first book, "Contest of Queens", and this sequel did not disappoint in the slightest. THAT ENDING!!!

I will say, I found the pacing in the first half to drag quite a bit, but the second half of the book had me hooked and foaming at the mouth for more. This is an amazing debut series and I cannot wait for the third book.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook for free for an honest review.

I finished this book a couple of days ago, but I needed a few days to collect my thoughts and come to a conclusion.
Even now nearly a week later I still think about the book and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
I quickly have to mention, that I did not read book one. Even though I started with book two I was not lost at all. There were lots of clues to what had happened before and it read a lot like the beginning. I would still recommend reading book one though, as that would definitely help with the characters and the relationships in the story.
The story was filled with many emotions, I loved the fact that it played in a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy. Our world is influenced by a society led by men for centuries and having the roles reversed felt good, showing that women are also strong and are able to rule well.
I also enjoyed the intrigue and plot twists woven throughout the story.
Our main character Jacs was likeable, you could see her go through a development of her character and she wasn’t the usual queen we see in many stories, she is strong and determined and best of all doesn’t require a strong man to come rescue her.
And the cliffhanger at the end OMG, that was just WOW! I am so exited by the foreshadowing at the end.
I also really enjoyed the narration, it didn’t distract me from the story and fit well.
All in all a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy filled with strong female characters, intrigue and lots of plot twist and I will say matriarchy for the win!

I couldn't finish this book. There were a couple things stacked against it that made me stop reading after about 6 chapters. For one, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator spoke in a hushed tone, almost as if she was whispering the narration. Then, when she spoke the character dialogue, the narrator spoke at full volume. This made it impossible to listen at any volume level; it was either too quiet at times, if I turned the volume down, or too loud at other times if I turned the volume up.

Audiobook aside, I rolled my eyes at the sex role reversal infused into the royal world of a fictitious medieval kingdom (queendom in this case). Knights are women, Lords are women, the queen's tutor is a woman, the four leaders who do the day-to-day running of the queendom are women. I could go on. In the six chapters, there was exactly one male character. And trust me, I understand what the author is doing here; there are many books written with all male characters and one female character who only serves as a love interest to the male lead. This book, I assume, was written to counteract that pervasive perspective. And though I think this role reversal could work in certain circumstances, I found it annoying. It was overdone to the point of being contrived and unbelievable.

Aside from that, I also objected to a secondary plot line dealing with one of the queen's ladies coming out as lesbian to her mother. This book is not billed as a "LGBTQ" book. I am not interested in this type of content. If I was, I would read books in the LGBTG genre. I find it interesting that every YA book published in the last 3 or 4 years seems to have "the lesbian best friend" or some other way to inject LGBTQ content into a story that doesn't need it. To the publisher: not all readers want to read stories about LGBTQ topics. Please don't push that content onto unsuspecting readers.

Queen’s Catacombs
Jordan H. Bartlett
This wasn’t one of my favorite books. It has great potential and tackles some major topics, women in authoritative positions and it addresses the levels of society caused by economic status. I felt this book rambled at times and it was rather slow moving especially at the beginning.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

3.5/5 stars. I enjoyed the set up of the first book, and appreciate how this book expanded this universe and characters. However, I mostly felt frustrated while reading this. I feel that this is the intention of the book, but it went too far. Besides frustration with the Council and Upperite prejudices in general, I found myself frustrated by Jax’s closest allies and friends. Despite her being queen they all still look down on her, her past, her values, and only excuse those things because she is their friend and queen.

I definitely want to read the eventual follow up when it is released, as I’d like to see the way things play out for these characters and this realm. I hope much of it follows Connor in the Lower Realms as he gets a reality check on his views and attitudes.

While Karissa Vacker has a beautiful voice and does great character work, sometimes that beauty clashes with the tone of the story. It feels too frothy and delicate at moments of big impact, and lofty in the way you would want someone who’s narrating a children’s fairytale to be. It felt more appropriate for the first book to be narrated in that manner, but ended up making this entry feel more juvenile than I would have liked.

3.25 rounded down - I think after a re-read, it will be a higher rating.
I don’t always look closely at the cover of books (don’t judge a book by its cover and all) and this time, it worked against me since I did not realize this was the second book in a series until about 45 minutes into listening. By then I was mostly interested with just some slight confusion about background.

This magical and dark world kept me enthralled. The characters & their interwoven lives are interesting and mostly likable.
I look forward to starting this series at the beginning, revisiting this novel, and continuing following everyone on their journeys!

It’s been a few months since the events of the last book and Jacs’ has no idea how to get her loved ones back and she has is facing mounting pressure on how to lead the queendom. The counsel seems to be blocking Jacs at every step and leaving her to wonder who’s really in charge of the land. Also, Jacs’ closest confidants seem to be doubting her. However, overall she has a good group of people to help her navigate this new and dangerous world. Her guards totally have her back. The plot is interesting and has some great twists! This book has it all, court intrigue, betrayal, light romance, and fight scenes.
This is a good story made even better by the eloquent narrator. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, is very expressive and kept me engaged throughout the book. I can’t wait for the next one!

Oh my crikey! Well this was an introduction and a half and there fore, hold the phone and batten down the hatches because I need go back and listen to "The Queens Contest" quicksmart!

First however, thereview

The concept is a fantastic and right from the get-go, a world is built where there is example after example of brutality, sniping and nefarious politics in a world dominated by female rulers. Oooh that Council of four had me shaking my fist! Fantastic villains and I loved the different levels of severity in each of them

It was very much a learning curve as to who was who, but Bartlett is exceptionally skilled at making the reader feel familiar with the characters by her strong descriptions and illustrative narrative with close attention to detail

There is a real mixed bag of villains and heroines (and heroes) you just want to take up arms for and fight alongside (in the fantasy world sense!) It was great to become immersed in a fantasy novel where women are not constantly being rescued every five minute (seriously, it must get tedious?)

After listening to the Queen's Contest, it is highly likely that I am going to get the books to read too. The narrator did an absolutely fantastic job of bringing the book to life so it's going to be an all formats series for me!

Thank you to NetGalley for the awesome audiobook. My review is left with great enthusiasm and of my own volition

This book was filled with deceit, power, secrets and much more. This gave me the series ‘Reign’ vibes. I loved this book! Highly recommend it. Now I need to go back and read book one. Oops.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. I enjoyed this story, it was intresting to see what the young Queen was up to. And I very much wanted to make the council members dissapear. The author really managed to make me care about the story.

Queen’s Catacombs takes place a few months after where Contest of Queen’s left off, with Jacs trying to navigate her new royal status, her two realms, court politics and her strained relationships. The book is just as much fun as the first, but also does well in delving further into the intricacies and some darker aspects of the realms. The plot definitely opened up further to encapsulate more of the two queendoms and the complex people within them, which was really great and made this second instalment standout.

Whilst I thought this book upped the stakes and the tension, the characters did feel slightly more naive than before. There were some quite obvious things throughout that no one seemed to pick up on, that didn’t really match the very intelligent characters, but that didn’t take away from any of the enjoyment.

As before, Karissa Vacker’s narration was beyond perfect and elevated this story so much more. She puts so much care into each character and crafts their voices perfectly - she has quickly become one of my favourite audiobook narrators.


I can’t wait to see where book 3 goes. Thank you to CamCat Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own.