Wow, this was an amazing sequel to one of my most favourite books of last year the characters in this book are amazing, beautiful and so well written.
this was a story that gripped me and had me up till gone 2 am till I finished it in under 24hrs, it had my heart in my throat for most of the story and had so many amazing twists and turns I loved every second of this story.

Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Grace and Fury was one of my top reads last year so I have been eagerly awaiting the sequel and it did not disappoint! Queen of Ruin is just as amazing as Grace and Fury! Tracy Banghart has now become an auto-buy author for me! If you haven’t read Grace and Fury I highly recommend it!

Guys! This book had me up reading ALL NIGHT! As in I started it at 11pm thinking oh I will read for a little while and suddenly it’s 6am and I’ve finished the entire book! If that doesn’t tell you how much I adored it then I don’t know what will.

Serina and Nomi are so amazing though I do love Serina a little more. They both went through such a huge change in their lives and an unexpected one at that. Yet they handle it so well, they have such great character development and their relationship is tested again and again yet they come out stronger each time. The story is very much driven by the choices the sisters make and it really focuses on them two, rather than following lots of others around.

It’s safe to say that I loved the female empowerment in this book and in the duology, I loved how different ways to be empowered are shown, how different women were empowered in different ways and the things they did differed yet still was an act of rebellion which they were punished for. I loved seeing the women supporting each other, being their for each other and being able to rely on each other. It’s so nice to see rather than women being pitted against each other we see a lot in YA books.

I really like how it ended too, it wasn’t a perfect happily ever after, there was lives lost and compromises made to ensure that things will change for the better. It was a new beginning rather than a happy ending. Though I would have liked to see a bit more in how the changes that were spoken about at the end would be implemented especially dealing with the hostility that they will no doubt face from men and especially other men in power.

I also really liked seeing how men can be ally’s and actually support women without it diminishing them in the least bit. We see them actually supporting Nomi, Serina and the other women and not just being all talk. They also didn’t expect to be praised or put on a pedestal just because they supported the women. They just did what needed to be done.

I think one the things I would have liked to see more of is more development of Malachi and Asa, we barely see Asa in this book and although Malachi does want things to change for women I wished we could have seen more of him and his character development. I also would love to see more of the world, other places are mentioned in the book but we only g et glimpses so I would love to see what it is like for women living in these places and whether it’s much different for them.

I think what I’m getting at is that I want another book! A duology just isn’t long enough for me and I just want to spend more time in this world and with Nomi and Serina and see them be the badasses they are and change things for the better!

So if I haven’t said it enough, I really loved this book and the duology as a whole and I highly recommend you read it!

Queen of Ruin is even better than Grace and Fury. This sequel concludes the duology while providing answers to all questions and giving it a solid, but clever ending. The characters and world are both expanded here. Readers will swoon at the romance and have a hard time putting this one down. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy Three Dark Crowns or The Selection. If you haven't started this duology yet, be sure to check it out today!

QUEEN OF RUIN was a great sequel that picks up right where its predecessor ends, and continues the growth arcs of the leads.

I was surprised when the sisters split up. I thought they'd stick together and fight Asa as a team, but this actually made far more sense. As a leader, Serina would be undoing her whole arc if she went with Nomi. Instead, we get some tense sequences on Mount Ruin, and some tough decisions. Not to mention the time it gives Serina to grow into her role - and face some serious challenges.

Nomi going with Malachai meant they got some time together. Not sure I was feeling much chemistry between them, but Nomi is the better lens through which to see what Asa's been up to - as she has that emotional connection (guilt and anger mainly).

I really liked the ending, and the choices Nomi, Malachai and Serina made. It certainly reflects where they've ended up over two books.

A few events, like Nomi's decision about two-third through and some of the action sequences, didn't feel like they had enough build up. I'd have like a longer book and think it have done with more time, more page space, to really build up and flesh out events.

The pacing was a bit off, feeling like the alternating Serina and Nomi chapters meant that some scenes had to be condensed or omitted. Serina's section was fine (though, judging my Nomi's timeline, more time passed than I thought), but Nomi's felt really rushed. An extra 25% of page space for here wouldn't have gone amiss as she met up with characters and travelled distances in half a page. Certain events (e.g. infiltrating the palace) felt too easy and lacking tension.

Unlike in the first book, I felt like the feminist message was being pointed out a bit too obviously. The book itself is a statement, but it sometimes felt like Banghart didn't quite trust us to know that this action was wrong and oppressing women.

Overall, it was a fun, quick read. There's certainly space for a sequel or two (and I'd like to see them trying to change the country).

Queen Of Ruin was definitely a worthy sequel which I was nervous about diving into. I didn’t think I’d remember what happened in book one but as soon as it kicked off, it all came rushing back.

I really loved the character development in this story as well as where the plot was going and I cannot wait to see where we go next. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants a good, royal, high fantasy story!

Thank you to Netgalley, Tracy Banghart and Hodder Children’s for my arc of Queen of Ruin in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler warning: as this is the second book in a series it will inevitably contain spoilers for book one Grace & Fury.

Synopsis; After being thrown onto a boat heading for Mount Ruin, Nomi and Malachi seem to be facing certain death. Asa has taken over the throne and intends to rule with an iron fist, not with the changes he promised Nomi. But when they arrive on the island to find Serena in charge and leading a rebellion of strong, fierce women, it seems that they might have a chance of wrestling back the throne and changing the world forever.


I'm sad to say that I didn't like Queen of Ruin quite as much as Grace and Fury. It felt very predictable throughout and to be honest I think this series could have benefited from being a trilogy. The world building wasn't improved upon, the switching perspectives, the simple, easy way things played out made it feel rushed and like it lacked complexity. A shame for what was a promising start.

I didn't know it was possible for the sequel to be any better than Grace and Fury and I have never been so glad to have been proven wrong! This was the perfect sequel to this amazing duology and I loved the ending! It was an amazing ending that tied up every loose threads in the book and I love how it didn't have people automatically approving the decision made at the end (especially the Heir's best friend!) It shows that change takes time, which is so true!

I remember finding the oppressive world these characters lived in interesting and powerful back when I read Grace and Fury. I think this second book doesn’t quite have the same impact for two reasons:

In the past 12 months more ‘women don’t have any rights’ books have been published than I would even have thought possible. In the wake of The Handmaid’s Tale’s success, we seem to have saturated the market. That doesn’t make women’s rights any less of an issue it just makes me less inclined to find an idea impactful.
The book doesn’t give you as many examples of ways in which women are oppressed in this setting. Of course, the examples that are there are fairly horrible but it tends to be focussed on the idea of not being able to read and being taken to places against your will – both horrible things of course – but somehow less poignant when most of the book those aren’t a problem for these characters. I think if you read these two books in quick succession that might be less of a problem because you’d still have the sense of the world from Nomi’s scenes in Grace and Fury?
So yes, it’s still a powerful setting and certainly an idea that can and should be explored, particularly in YA fantasy (since so many similar books are adult dystopian) – but without the lingering sense of the first book, it just doesn’t hit quite so hard as it did in book one.

The romance – oof. In my review for Grace and Fury I said the following:

“There are a few moments of ‘no stop mooning over each other people are dying’”

I kind of felt similarly in this book. I mean, it’s less bad. Certainly, there seems to be a greater focus on actually getting things done as opposed to the falling in love portions of the story. But then maybe there needed to be more meaningful non-romance based interactions between the characters? I don’t know. If I’m reading a book where they’re in an inn and there’s only one bed and I’m not enthused…hmm.

I’m coming across very negative when, in all honesty, I don’t think this is a bad book. I think it’s maybe the case that this could have been a trilogy, we could have had a little more time to get to know these characters, to build a bit more of a rapport with some of the supporting cast, to get a better sense of the two worlds and the people living in them – or maybe that’s on me, maybe this book needs to be read close to the first book in order to maintain that connection with the characters?

HMMM

But yes, in terms of empowerment and suchlike I think this book, this series, is a good starting point. I think it’s a good place to begin asking the kind of questions we should be asking about female empowerment and such. But I don’t know if this book ticked all my boxes when it comes to what I would consider ‘feminist fiction’ – which is one of the ways in which this book is being marketed. I firmly believe that to call a book feminist and to celebrate it for being so, a book has to be openly and explicitly intersectional. This book achieves that at times, bringing in characters of colour as well as some mentions of queer characters – but for me, that felt more of a whisper when I wanted it to be a roar.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and it’s quite possible that I’m being overly harsh purely because I have very high standards when it comes to books that feature these kinds of ‘women rising up’ stories. Thinking about it, I demand more of them than I might a book that was written by a white man about a white man – that’s probably my own failing.

I ended up giving this book three stars, my rating for ‘I enjoyed this but I don’t think it was my ideal read’.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Queen of Ruin is out July 11th!

In Viridia, women are objects, not people. Beautiful, demure, obedient objects. Those who disobey are killed or sent to the island prison of Mount Ruin, forced to fight and kill for the guards' amusement. Serina has successfully led an uprising against them, but they are now trapped on the island, pinning all their hopes on the next supply ship. Serina's thoughts are with Nomi, though, left behind in the palace at the mercy of the cruel Superior. Together, these girls can destroy a country. If they can find their power.

This was a brilliant follow up to Grace and Fury. There was enough recapping for me to remember what happened in the last book, but not so much that it seemed out of place. Serina and Nomi continued to grow as characters, facing awful situations head on. The rest of the characters are distinct enough for it to really matter when they start fighting. The ending was clever and about the only way things could really have worked out. I'm glad the story wasn't dragged out longer; this felt like the right length.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.