Review: The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Publication Date: Sept 24th 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Pages: 586
Series: Seven Realms #2

Source: Purchased

Rating:
 ★★★★

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean that danger isn't far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

Everything changes when Han and Raisa’s paths cross, in this epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

I adored The Exiled Queen. I loved the journey and I loved the world building. It is indeed a true high fantasy. The characters are all great, they all met my expectation. But there were some parts of the story that really bored me to death. At the end of the Demon King I thought this one would be action packed and I was so excited for Raisa and Han to meet again. Oh boy I thought those two would never meet. I lost hope somewhere around 200 pages in. It seemed to drag on foreverrrrr. I wanted something to happen, I wanted all of them to meet already. I was asking when and when the whole time because I'd not wait any longer.

For me the story really kicked in when (as you may known) Han runs into Raisa. I really loved to see the development in their relationship. It's slow but so sweet. Han is cocky but the way he cares for Raisa just melt my heart. Those two are just so cute together. And I'm glad that Raisa does has some feelings for Han and not just because he's the one that is available. I felt bad for Amon but (I'm sure) he'll get over it since his loyalty is the most important thing for him. Besides he's so eager to move on. So I guess everything works out just fine then.

As a conclusion even though the first half of the book is too slow for me and somewhat boring but overall The Exiled Queen was a good read. I enjoyed it a lot and at the end it kind of surprised me because I'm really lost (doesn't know who to trust here).  I'm so excited to find out more in the next book. By the way, lovely cover right? :)