The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout – a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

Description:
From the desperation of golden crowns…

Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable.

And born of mortal flesh…

Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace.

A great primal power rises…

Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most.

As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.

Review:

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the 4^th book in her fantastic Blood and Ash series. When we last left off, in The Crown of Gilded Bones, Cas is now a prisoner, being tortured by the evil Blood Queen, and her handmaidens and a powerful Revenant. Poppy, our amazing heroine, is determined to find a way to rescue Cas, with help from Kieran, the Wolvens, Drakens, and the Primal of Life guards. But in order to take back control of the territories that are part of the Blood Crown, Poppy must convince all the Atlantians, including her father-in-law (Valyn) to join forces, as they make their way to Carsononia, and the war to destroy the Blood Crown. I did like how Valyn was supportive to Poppy.  Poppy wanted to prove to the mortals in those Blood Crown lands that she wanted peace, and was not The Harbinger.

Poppy’s powers continue to increase, as she nears the culling; something Reaver (Draken) explains more about. I loved Reaver, not to mention Kieran and the fantastic wolvens loyal to their Queen, Poppy; the secondary characters were all awesome, Vonetta, Delano, Emil, Naill, Hisa, Tawny, just to name a few. 

For at least more than half way through this book, we only saw through Cas’s POV during his imprisonment, and the things they did to him to try and force Poppy to rescue him.  I love their heartmate dreams between them, that was great, as his devotion to Poppy was awesome. It was also interesting to see Malik, learn more about Millicent, and who she really was.  I also got a kick out of Kieran and Reaver’s bickering between them.  Fun. 

What follows is an intense, exciting and wild almost last half of the book, especially once Cas was freed and back with Poppy, Kieran and their wonderful team. The mind-blowing action in the last ¼ of the book was heart-wrenching, with lots of violence, danger, deaths that had me holding my breath, unable to put the book down.  Isbeth (Blood Queen) was truly evil, and the twist she threw at them was a surprise, but Poppy was as equally as strong as she was, which led to an amazing twist.  To say too much more would be spoilers and I do not want to spoil anything for you.   I so look forward to how the next book will have Poppy and Cas, and Sera and Nykos.   Should be amazing.

I will note that the terrible reactions from people (are they really fans?) crucifying JLA for the Joining, was very disrespectful.  JLA created her story line, how she saw it fit. It was her creativity, her characters, her story; however, she imagined it to be. 

The War of Two Queens was another intriguing continuation to this fantastic series, with wonderful world building, and lots of action, suspense, violence, passion and fantastic characters.    As we race to the exciting heartbreaking, shocking, mindboggling climax, there are some amazing revelations.  The War of Two Queens was very well written by JLA, and also a romantic and intense story line that had a bit of everything.  I can’t wait for the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher