The Vanished Queen by Lizbeth Campbell – a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / BAM /

Description:
When a country is held in thrall to a vicious, despotic king, it’s up to one woman to take him down.

Long ago, Queen Mirantha vanished. King Karolje claimed it was an assassination by a neighboring king, but everyone knew it was a lie. He had Disappeared her himself.

But after finding the missing queen’s diary, Anza—impassioned by her father’s unjust execution and inspired by Mirantha’s words—joins the resistance group to overthrow the king. When an encounter with Prince Esvar thrusts her into a dangerous game of court politics, one misstep could lead to a fate worse than death.

Esvar is the second son to an evil king. Trapped under his thumb and desperate for a way out, a chance meeting with Anza gives him the opportunity to join the resistance. Together, they might have the leverage to move against the king—but if they fail, their deaths could mean a total loss of freedom for generations to follow.

Review:

The Vanished Queen by Lizbeth Campbell is a standalone epic fantasy.  This is the first time I have read Campbell, and after completing this book, I hope to read more of her, as The Vanished Queen was a fantastic read.  The story has three POV’s; Anza, Esvar and Mirantha.

We meet Anza, our heroine, at that start when she is sneaks into the library where all books have been locked up and forbidden. She comes across the diary of Queen Mirantha, who disappeared or was killed 12 years by her husband, the King.  The diary, as Anza will read, details Mirantha’s hard life with the evil and corrupt King Karolje, who rules the kingdom with fear and terror under a vicious rule, which has created a resistance that is bent on overthrowing him. Mirantha loves her two sons, Tevin and Esvar, who even to this day, love  and mourn their mother.

Anza, whose father was executed by the King, becomes more determined to join the resistance, as she reads Mirantha’s journal.  When she meets Sparrow, the leader of the resistance, she proves that she is an asset, especially as she has been trained by her father to excel in fighting and bow shooting. Anza was a fabulous heroine, as she was strong, smart, independent and loyal, not to mention her hatred of the king.  After a resistance attack, Anza is taken to be questioned by a bad corrupt captain, only to be saved by Prince Esvar, who claimed she was innocent of any wrong doing.

Prince Esvar, the second son, wants to protect and help his brother, who is the heir to the throne.  They both know their father has no qualms in killing them, if they stand in his way.  Esvar will eventually befriend Anza, and uses this opportunity to approach the resistance to help defeat his father.  With Anza at his side, Esvar tries to convince Sparrow and her team to help him eliminate the close supporters of the King, and help them defeat the King.  Can Sparrow and the resistance trust the Prince?

In the Queen’s journal, we learn how horrific Karojle ruled and destroyed innocent people, as well as making her life difficult, even to the point of killing someone close to her, who she was having an affair with, as well as other friends.  Then she is taken prisoner to disappear, but everyone knew the King was behind her ‘disappearance’.

In a short time, Anza and Esvar will find themselves attracted to each other, which will become a slow built romance that remains in the background.  I loved both Anza and Esvar, as they were great together, with Esvar determined to help his brother take the throne, even if it meant his death.  Early on the story was a bit slow, but as in all fantasy, the beginning introduces all the major characters, when we learn about this world.   The world building was very well done, with many details to give us a glimpse at these wonderful characters, and the political intrigue, struggles and the battle to defeat evil.

The Vanished Queen is a wonderful dark adventure, with fantastic characters, and a world filled with evil, secrets, lies, deceit & betrayal. I will say there is an amazing twist that blew us away.  Very well done.  The last 1/3 of the book was intense, exciting, non-stop action, that had me on the edge, as we raced to the climax.  What I loved the most about this book, was that it was a standalone, not having us wait for a couple more books.  Thank you, Lizbeth Campbell for this fantastic story.  If you like fantasy at its best, I suggest you read The Vanished Queen.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher