I’m not usually one for aliens and space ships, preferring dragons and magic to advanced technology, but I loved this book.
Bel is a typical Vairian citizen- she was born and raised to be a warrior, to fight and fly in defense of the vast galactic empire. All Bel wants is to be a pilot like her mother before her, and she is close to achieving her goal when a bomb is dropped on her plans. Literally. With one attack, the enemy wipes out the leaders of the Vairian people and as the last of the ruling bloodline, no matter how far-flung the connection, Bel becomes royalty. Bartered off in marriage to cement a strategic alliance, Bel travels to the plant Anthaeus to marry it’s king, Conleith. Accompanied by a small troop of soldiers from home and her childhood friend and crush Shae, Bel must learn how to navigate foreign politics and somehow bond with the man she is supposed to marry. Then Anthaeus is attacked, and Bel must use all of her training to keep herself and her people free.
I loved the slow-burn romance in this book. It was woven into the plot and seemed to naturally unfold. I found Bel a sympathetic character. She is a realist and a fighter thrust into the role of a politician and a diplomat. Her learning curve is steep, and I enjoyed watching her fill her new role. Bel holds onto duty even in the face of misery- ahh, I mean marriage- and I appreciated the frank discussions she has with supporting characters when they simply tell her to suck it up- they are raised to join the military, after all. That kind of dialogue is refreshing when a lot of these books have a tendency to be overly broody. I won’t spoil the ending, but my inner romance reader was almost completely satisfied with it. I will definitely be picking up the next book.
I would recommend the Queen’s Wing for fans who enjoyed The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, The Winter King by C.L. Wilson and Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

While The Queen’s Wing seems like a steampunk fantasy from its cover and synopsis, I feel it is more accurate to call it science fiction or space opera. The worlds in this novel are planetary kingdoms, and our protagonist, Bel is a recently-crowned princess of a military kingdom that has been given in marriage to a planetary kingdom outside the Empire’s zone, in hopes of making an alliance. Bel’s travel to this mysterious planet with a mystical king-like is fraught with assassinations, and a threat in the form of another planet that wants to steal resources. While Bel is initially reluctant to leave her own kingdom to marry a stranger, and moreover give up on her love, her childhood friend and now bodyguard, Shae, she grows into her role slowly as she comes to admire, respect and eventually love her fiance, Con.

The Queen’s Wing alternates between being sci-fi with its space travel and all, with a touch of steampunk, as is the technology on Anthaeum, and being a political drama in the vein of Jupiter Ascending (movie) or The Diabolic (book). Bel’s introduction to her new subjects is tinged with the prejudice most of the galaxy has regarding her kingdom, that they are barbarians who love war. Bel herself has been raised like a soldier and a lady, which makes her place her duty above her feelings most of the time, and leads to most of the conflict in her personal development. She knows she is the anchor of the alliance, but in her heart also wants to just run away with Shae to some distant part of the galaxy, away from the Empress’ schemes. (Actually, I am hoping we get to see the Empress and her capital at some point during the series because court intrigue is what I am looking forward to) Con’s attachment to his planet develops the fantasy element of the novel, though that could also be argued to be sci-fi; it is both in a way.

The writing of the book was good, and I loved the extent of world building it provided – just enough to not overwhelm you, but also rich enough to fill the necessary background. Only Con’s first marriage was much of a mystery during a significant part of the novel, mostly because I was fretting over his age (it never mentions how long he was married, only that he was very young) but it is explained later on what the nature of the relationship was. Still, with the love triangle, I was worried about more angst coming from Con’s side due to that, that didn’t really need to be there. As for Shae, I was not interested in his relationship with Bel because I am tired of first loves who suddenly vocalize their feelings right when it is most inconvenient for the protagonist.

Overall, an interesting and engaging scifi novel, which I hope to see more of.

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

This truly was a gripping story! The Queen's Wing is just the right amount of action and romance; mixing up quite the selection of genres. So, when you see the tagline: "A completely gripping fantasy romance" BELIEVE IT! I will say, however, that the story is more science-fiction than fantasy. It combines fantasy, science-fiction, steampunk and fantasy.

The Queen's Wing is a fun mix of the above genres and will surely appeal to fans of The Selection (I was getting some major parallels between the two when it came to the romantic plotlines), The Androma Saga and maybe a little of The Winner's Trilogy. Which makes it all the more enthralling to its target audience. It's action packed, driven by romance, and just an all around fun time.

That being said, it won't be for everyone. Like all works of fiction, it has it flaws and there are several kinks that Thorne will have likely sorted out in the sequel. While it worked for me, despite said flaws, I will say you should probably steer clear of The Queen's Wing if you aren't interested in love triangle tropes (there's definitely a big one in this first installment, however it is sorted fully by the end) or in romantic stories in general.

Some of you might even consider the likely endgame relationship to be rushed and a little too instant lovey-dovey. I had no issue with them, and thought they were quite sweet. I was smitten with them, but I did find myself hoping for a little more development and could certainly see why it might feel rushed for others.

I enjoyed the world featured in The Queen's Wing and am looking forward to seeing it built, and in the case of book two: rebuilt, because Thorne has offered us a richly thought out universe that I am looking forward to exploring right along with the characters. I do wish there had been a little more focus on that than there was--some moments felt a little in the dark or underdeveloped, but not enough to really raise any alarm because Thorne will likely continue to develop it as the series goes on--and that the characters were a little more developed, too.

(I sound like I'm ragging on the story when, in fact, I am probably just being greedy. I always want to know EVERYTHING.)

Other little things to note:

-Bel is an awesome lead character. I can see why the story itself will be appealing to Sarah J. Maas fans. While Jessica Thorne is not Maas (this isn't an insult; I just want to make it clear that Thorne has a style that is uniquely her own and sets her apart from her peers) I think a lot of readers will embrace Bel the same way they've embraced characters who are in a similar vein.
-The love triangle is a pretty prominent one on surface only. While the relationships will be very drawn out for the reader, and romance is a really big factor in The Queen's Wing, I think that the triangle is less of a "Team Con!" and "Team Shae!" moment and more of a, "This is sweet, but we know who is probably going to be endgame."
-As a whole, characters like Shae and Elara somehow both tugged at my heartstrings and felt a little underdeveloped. I liked them and thought they deserved better than the events of The Queen's Wing. I knew what was coming. But, I also had something of an indifference when their plotlines came about. It was like, "Oh, that's unfortunate."
-The world really is fascinating. I know, I said this already. It's true, though. I really liked the way that Thorne combined all the genres and these familiar tropes, but made them into her own little piece of unexpectedness. There was a lot to these lands, their technology and other little bits that we see, that felt like something we'd not yet seen.
-I'd like to hear more about Con's life before Bel. More on Matilde. I'd like to see some flashbacks in book two, that focus on his life then vs. now.
-The same can be said about Bel. I feel like there's so much more we don't know about her family, her brothers; life before The Queen's Wing. I want to see her, quite literally, fly. I'd like to see more of a background on her bond with Shae.

Overall, I enjoyed The Queen's Wing and it was the perfect book to curl up with on a snowy day. I am presently snowed in (well, not so much today) and sick, so it was comforting to make some hot cocoa and curl up with this novel. This is the perfectly compelling YA novel you should be looking into this winter.

A very strong female character. She has her own mind and shes not afraid to show it.
I love con too.
Cant wait to read the 2nd book

Actual rating 4.5 stars

Where do I start. This novel was epic. It was supposed to be a romance but it is so much more and I am in love. Having never heard of Jessica Thorne, I was a little worried I wouldn't enjoy it but to be honest, it far exceeded my expectations.

To start, the protagonist is a chick who honestly could function perfectly should the entire male population cease to exist. She's just great. Bel is the perfect mix of strong and soft, feminine but tough, fun but able to reign should it be required. I absolutely loved her and her lady in waiting Elara (quite frankly this woman was manipulative but I loved her SO DAMN MUCH)

The male characters were a little less forward but they all had their strengths regardless of status. I will say however that I wish there was just a smidge more Zander being good brother rather than pushy overbearing monarch.

The setting was so multifaceted but never felt brushed over or like a setting was just there for variety.

The narrative was well thought out and punchy, keeping the reader intrigued at every turn. It was fast paced but in a good way not a GRRM 'just wait, let me go back three chapters' kind of way. I loved the alien creatures overseeing Anthaeum from the safety of a hidden city. I found the Mecha to be an ingenious villain because you never suspect those closest to you right?

Overall I loved it and found it to be almost perfect.

I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading book two in this series. Bel is an excellent character and I found her to be relatable and well written. She is strong willed and fun to read. I enjoyed the romance and the action! I found some parts to be a bit predictable but overall its a fun read! I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I gave it 3.5 stars

THE QUEEN'S WING had me wanting more pretty quickly upon starting to read it.

I enjoyed Bel from the get-go. She has a strong personality. Her determination and strength really drew me to her. She was willing to do what was expected of her, but she was still determined to be her in the end.

The romance wasn't out of this world. There is a bit of a love triangle that puts a damper on some things. Bel and Shae have known each other forever and I'm sure could have had a great romance if they were allowed too, but I felt like I could have done without their feelings for each other getting in the way. I felt like Bel and Con had a great connection when they allowed themselves to actually enjoy and understand each other. I wish they could have come together a lot sooner than they did.

The world was super interesting and I enjoyed the action involved in THE QUEEN'S WING. I enjoyed THE QUEEN'S WING and I already have book two, THE STONE'S HEART on my wishlist—even though it looks like we have some different main characters.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this YA sci-fi book. The "arranged marriage to love" trope is one that I adore so will generally always read anythin with that theme. I loved Bel, the main protagonist. I thought she was relatable, I loved that she was strong yet still vulnerable to the circumstances around her. I cannot wait to get my hands on a print copy of this and I cant wait for more in this series!

My Rating : 5🌟

When a surprise attack on the palace makes Bel the centre on attraction, she has to travel to a distant land and get married to the recently widowed ruler Con. With increasing assassination attempts on her life, she must figure a way out to help both herself and the country with her fiancé & her childhood love..
.

The first thing I loved way the world setting. The different ruling clans with their hard set traits and the advanced technologies mixed with space shuttles and a bit of fantasy, this book was filled with all the things I love! Especially travelling among planets & conquering moons to display their superiority.
.

The second thing was the diverse characters. Though you deal with a lot of same cliché characters, you get a variety of them. Especially the side characters. I can happily say that I loved the side characters more than I loved the main characters. Con & Bel made a really nice complimenting pair, and to be honest I didn’t like Shae as much as I should have.
.

This book had a mixture of everything. I loved the action, following your dreams, really good romance, strong characters, loyal friendships even when everything was at stake, and it made me cry! Not spoiling, but a certain character death had me sobbing! It had it’s fair share of issues, but the positives was just a tad bit more than that, so it’s a 5 star for me!
.

Even if you are not a fan of Sci-fi, pick it up. You will never realize you are in space and all things related unless you pay attention to the names of the planets & moons! If you are looking for a fantasy/sci-fi/romance book with really good friendship, passion, slow paced romance, amazing side characters and some heartbreak, definitely check this one out! I highly recommend it!

This book was a fantastic YA novel. The main character Bel, is everything you would want your protagonist to be; she's smart, and energetic, and loyal while still being flawed. She could understand what was happening around her while still be frustrated with the circumstances. The book involves Bel, a daughter of a minor royal, becoming real royalty with the murder of the ruling family. As such she is then sent to marry the leader of the people on another planet. Once there, there are some culture clashes, and bad guys abound.

I enjoyed this book as it played around with tropes without getting completely caught up in them. There was some amazing world-building and this was a book that dealt with a lot of loss, showing how it affected people differently. Plus the worlds in this book were a ton of fun to read about.

dnf, it's not the book, it's me. I certainly think this queen/princess type stories aren't for me and I should have known better, but I didn't. I would consider picking it up at a different time of the year in hopes that I enjoy it more the second time.

I started read book a few days ago, and I have to say that this book kept me hooked.
At the begining I didn't know what was about the book, but I continue reading and the plot makes to me so interesting.

The book is about of Bel, a girl who lives in a world that is in war with another world. Bel belongs of a noble family, but she loves to fly in war ships and her dream is to dedicate her life to being a military.
But this is interrupted with an attack that destroys the city where their cousins ​​live, which are the monarchs. Bel has to be to be the replacement of her dead cousin and become a princess. As well as, and that leads to marrying an unknown widower who is the highest leader of his civilization however, Bel is in love of another man.
Bel will have to decide if her responsabilities or her love ....

This YA sci-fi story is so much more than an arranged marriage plot line but if 'arranged marriages to love' is one of your buzz phrases for a book, you'll love this one. I really liked Bel as a character - she's really tough and feisty but she's also a trained warrior and the way she thinks and reacts are often what you would expect of someone who grew up like her. She never really did anything out of character and I really enjoyed seeing her character progression from rather reluctant princess to a true queen and leader. She earned the loyalty of her people, and her husband to be's, and it was well deserved.

I definitely think the love triangle plot of this book could be removed altogether as it brought no extra element into it for me, except some eye-rolling at Bel's constant thoughts about how she'd love to kiss Shae. There was no chemistry between them, it was very tepid tap water, and I much preferred the chemistry and dynamic Bel had with Con.

The action in this book was great and I loved the descriptions and scenes, particularly when Bel was flying. The flying machines in this book were really cool, and I loved how important they were for Bel and her country people. Some things seemed to happen quite fast - like the time they were hiding in the forest, I wasn't sure of the timeline - there were definitely parts of the story I wanted slowed down a bit so I could fully immerse myself in the world that I truly loved being in.

The world is honestly really interesting, and I want more of it and for Bel to explore every inch and know all its history as it seems so rich. This book ended in a really nice place but I'm definitely excited for the next one already.

I really liked and enjoyed this enchanting story!! Didn't expect to tear up though.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4/5

This was a difficult book to rate. Thorne writes an imaginative, original tale that had so much potential, I absolutely wanted to love it. When the focus was on story telling and not internal dialog, I really did love it. I guess the best way to describe The Queen's Wing was exciting, action packed and riveting with some major slows and lows that brought it to a grinding hault. Edit those slows and lows and The Queen's Wing has amazing read written all over it... But as it stands, I'm going to have to go with 3.5 stars.

I received this ARC copy of The Queen's Wing from Bookouture. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Queen's Wing is set for publication November 21, 2018.

My Rating: 3.5 stars
Written by: Jessica Thorne
Series: The Queen's Wing (Book 1)
Paperback: 364 pages
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: November 19, 2018
ISBN-10: 1786816180
ISBN-13: 978-1786816184
Genre: Scifi | Space Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Queens-Wing-co...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...
3 likes

The Queen’s Wing follows the story of 17 year old Bel, who wants nothing more than to fly and fight like her brothers.
But as the only girl in her family, she is destined to be married off to a Prince in order to secure her father’s throne.

Torn between doing what is right and doing what she loves, Bel is forced into a whole new world full of royal politics, assassination attempts and treason.

I thought this book was fantastic. I really enjoyed the story line and the concept was fascinating. Although none of the tropes were original they were well written and perfectly paced.
The characters are well developed and their motivation is clear from the start. I really liked the dynamics between all the characters and the supporting cast were just as interesting as the main protagonists. Bel is a awesome female lead: fierce, stubborn, strong and proud. I also liked her snarky attitude as it felt appropriate for a 17 year old girl.

I particularly enjoyed the slow burn romance between Bel and Con. Con is a little bit eccentric and geeky whilst still being shy and mysterious which I loved.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I didn’t want to put it down!

The Queen’s Wing is a YA romantic fantasy with a strong and determined female lead, two brooding males and a believable love triangle.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Queen’s Rising will be available from 21st November 2018.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Bookouture) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

The Queen's Wing was not for me. I did not finish this book, but read it halfway through. I was so prepared to love it! It sounded epic. While it was easy to read and kind of addictive, it was hard to overlook the poor writing style. The sentences were extremely short and often didn't make sense. They chopped and changed and it really interrupted my reading. The world and names were so hard to get used to. Even though it was additive, I think the author tried just a bit too hard to make it epic in every aspect. The characters were hard to connect to and the narrative felt predictable.

The romance was the only interesting plot point for me, and unfortunately that started to dissolve into a bit of a mess. I understand many people will enjoy The Queen's Wing, but I was not one of them, sorry!

Rating 4/5

17-year old Bel is a princess who wants more than the stereotypical lifestyle - her greatest accomplishment would to become a flyer like her brothers. But as a girl and a princess, duty comes before desire and as her family now becomes the direct heirs to the kingdom, she flees to escape only to find her life is in even more danger.

Bel starts off as a very strong heroine with lots of potential. However, when the romance is introduced, she recedes back into a "damsel in distress" character that I didn't like at all. It's like she wanted to be so much more than a pampered princess, but when faced with reality and the opportunities to show she can do just as well as any man, she turns into said pampered princess. THIS was such a huge disappointment. However, the author makes up with it for the world and science she crafts. There is lots of adventure and I loved how she tore down gender roles to reflect that a girl can do anything a boy can. There is good grounds for an even stronger sequel and I can't wait to see how Bel grows into the Queen she is to become.

Overall I’m pretty meh about it. There was nothing overtly bad about it but I just really didn’t care for it. It was hard for me to get into and just felt like it followed the fantasy template a little too well. No recommendation either way for this one.

An unusual and intriguing Young Adult Sci-Fi story , The Queen's Wing by Jessica Thorne, is the story of Bel, a minor aristocrat who loves nothing more than flying, taking to the air in her brother's reconditioned plane. When a military strike from a rival planet almost wipes out the entire royal line, Bel becomes a princess, and a prize to be betrothed in order to secure a military alliance. Gone are her dreams of flying, and a future with Shae, a former friend and trainer who is now her bodyguard, instead she is to be married off to the ruler of another planet, where women are expected to be little more than decorative companions, and where a mysterious quasi religious council makes all the important decisions.
The world building in this book is truly outstanding, the author does an excellent job of incorporating it seamlessly into the story in a way that never slows the pace. Bel is a wonderful character, heroic at heart but not without fault, and very believable in her insecurity about her new place in a very changed world. The action and adventure of the plot is matched by a delicately balanced love triangle between Bel, her companion Shae, and her betrothed, Conleith. The slower, more emotional moments provide a welcome moment for the reader to Cath their breath before plunging once again into the action. The book will work as a stand-alone but while there is a well resolved ending, there is also potential for the story to continue, and I for one look forward to seeing what the future holds for Bel.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.