Amazing book! I'm completely hooked onto Aparna's writing!

The world building was to die for, and we get to see so much more of the characters. It's darker than the first book but that's what I live for. Makes me ravenous for the third book!

This is an excellent sequel to The Phoenix King and allows the world and our character to continue to grow and develop. We spend more time outside of Ravance, which allows us to understand even more about how the world is functioning as a whole and what challenges this creates for our characters. The pacing of the book is excellent and kept me wanting to read more as I went. The twists that the characters go through will leave you wanting more and waiting impatiently for the conclusion of the trilogy. If you enjoyed the first book, this is absolutely a must read sequel!

After reading The Phoenix King this one was one of my anticipated releases, but unfortunately it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I felt like this one suffered a bit from middle book syndrome. Some of the issues I had with the first book were the odd transitions or lack thereof between scenes and gaps in the fantasy world building, which continued in this installment. Coupled with the additional plot points and characters that appeared with very little introduction made the plot a bit convoluted and difficult to follow.

Although I still really liked Elena and Samson as characters, I wasn't as invested in their dynamic as I was in the first book. I felt the strongest part of this book was the political intrigue and power struggle in the world. I do think that Verma's ideas are really interesting but for me the execution just fell a bit short. However, I still enjoyed this enough and that ending got me excited for the conclusion of this series.

Felt the first book was okay. Thoroughly enjoyed this second book! It was so good! Definitely felt darker than book 1, especially with the twists and action scenes. Its a constantly moving, heavier politics story, and expands on all the world building while flushing out the characters (especially experiencing all their emotions).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up to five stars)
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read an advance reader's copy of this book!
This fiery sequel took my breath away!🔥I loved all the action, power struggles, and fierce magic within this story.

Wow! The second book did not satisfy my itch at all. I need the third book ASAP. How incredibly selfish of me I know! In all seriousness, I want the author to take as much time as she needs to write the third book. And I will wait as long as I need to.

I truly loved how much more of the world we got in the second book which only makes sense in how things happened after the first. I’m always someone who enjoys side characters and I found myself really looking forward to the new characters that were introduced.

My only thing is I felt like the book was marketed with a focus on female rage and I didn’t get that in the second book. I felt more of that in the first book. Maybe I didn’t pick it up as I should have but I felt more of the rage coming from the MMC. I only expected more of that from how it marketed. I currently don’t get the Azula vibe. But again, that could just be me!! I didn’t pick up on yearning between the two either. Definitely from MMC but not from the MFC. And I’d recommend a warning in the beginning of the book due to some actions between the two characters borderline abusive. I was surprised to find out later that it was meant to be yearning between the two? Again maybe it just didn’t translate well for me. I do love an enemies to lovers storyline!!

Either way, I’m eager for the next book. The world, the fantasy, characters… ugh I loved it!! The marketing just made me expect something slightly different but it didn’t take away from the fact that it’s still a very good book!

The Burning Queen is a dark and immersive fantasy full of political intrigue, betrayal, and fire-filled magic. I think I may have loved this one even more than the first.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book picked up immediately after book one, with the stakes being higher and the “magic” being more epic!
I enjoyed the prose at the beginning of each chapter because it set the tone for what the author would lay out.
The world building is so vast and the author’s words flow seamlessl. Though this book was lengthy, I devoured it within a week! My attention was captured from page one and I really enjoyed The Phoenix King’s recap at the very beginning. Book recaps should be mandatory in fantasy series.
My only con is I feel like Elena didn’t rage as much as she should’ve. In my opinion, she was angrier and steadfast in book one than in book two. Despite this, I’m still eager and excited to read the conclusion of this series!

Loved seeing the world expand and all of the court politics. Verma has done a great job pulling you into this epic world and then ripping your heart out for these characters. Cannot wait for book three that ending!!!! 💀💀💀

The secrets the lies the drama all wrapped into one this was a good read a page tuned to be exact I loved it I’m sure others will enjoy it as well I love the storyline

This series is so underrated! I am so in love with the political intrigue and court, the feminine rage, and the world building. The characters are all my friends, even the ones I hate - I secretely love because the characters have me eating this whole series up.
The ending blew my mind and what do you mean we have to wait for book 3?!!

This had me on edge the entire time. I was mad sad shocked. I loved this. The love the hate the brutality the betrayals and the RAGE. I’m ready for the next book NOW. Aparna Verma can write a book. Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Yes yes yes! I could not wait to read book 2 after finishing The Phoenix King and now the much anticipated wait is OVER! Thrilling, exhilarating and something to look forward to. Intense and exciting.

The stunning sequel to a beautiful novel- Aparna Verma is a master, queen of the pen. I love this. I think you will too.

The Burning Queen is the sequel to The Phoenix King, an epic fantasy inspired by Indian culture and mythology that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and mythology. The sequel really expands on the world and the politics of the first book, taking the reader outside of Ravence and the exploring many new areas, countries, and political systems.

I enjoyed TPK, though I thought it was fairly predictable and expected more romance from it given that the marketing for this book seemed to focus on the relationship between Yassen and Elena so strongly. I went in to book 2 expecting something very similar, and was surprised by the way it expanded the world and cast of characters. That said, I think this book may have gone the other way and attempted to do too much. It was difficult to keep all of the characters and plot threads straight in this book, and while the plot twists were numerous, they also sometimes fell into the trap of happening too frequently.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. It is obvious that Verma's writing has improved since her debut novel, and on a prose level her writing is gorgeous and very descriptive. I never struggle to picture what was being described or what the characters were seeing. I also enjoyed the developments between Samson and Elena and how their relationship twisted and changed over the course of the story.

Give me more!!!! God the chokehold this book had on me is astronomical! Another wonderful book in the series.

The Burning Queen by Aparna Verma took me on an epic journey and left me ready for the next book. Picking up where we left off in The Phoenix King, we get multiple points of views to carry us through the story. The Burning Queen has the return of familiar faces and new players that I cannot wait to get more of. This book gives action, drama, love, loss, yearning, and so many amazing and quotable moments.
Aparna has written some of the best fight scenes I've ever read. They were so good that I had to read them twice.

Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

THE BURNING QUEEN is extraordinary. Aparna Verma did the impossible and made me fall even more in love with the gorgeously unique world she’s created with Elena, Samson, and Yassen — and perhaps most of all, the stories of Ravence. I need the next book!

I had some issues with the first book but I was happy to read the second to see where the story was going.
The pacing is much better than the first, with a lot of twists. The author seems to have matured a bit in their writing as well. What didn't work for me in the first book was huge swathes of text that did not move the plot forward at all. The mythology was confusing. But this book fixes some of those issues. worthy sequel, def recommend reading it especially if you liked the first book!

There is a lot to like in this book and this series. I like fantasy series that get deep into the political aspect of the worlds, rather than just focusing on magic or romance. This one is very political, and I enjoyed that part of the book immensely. It's also very well written - no obvious issues with grammar or language that can pull you out of a narrative.

But... there's a lot of violence and after a while, I got overwhelmed by all the bleeding and broken bones and people being burnt. People also seemed to heal rather quickly, only to get beaten again a few pages later. The relationship between the 2 main characters in this book felt really gross, too. So much abuse, mostly physical, and more from the male character to the female character, which was kind of gross to read. But somehow they are also in love? But she loves the other guy from that last book too? It was all a bit much.

So, yeah. Mixed feelings about this one. Not entirely sure I'll keep up with the series.