Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen

Author: C.J. Redwine

Release Date: February 16, 2016

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Ravenspire Book #1

ISBN:  0062360248

ISBN13: 9780062360243

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source:  Edelweiss

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Snow White is one of my favorite stories, so I was excited to read THE SHADOW QUEEN. Unfortunately although I liked the story, it didn't blow me away and I didn't find myself yearning to read more. To tell the truth, the story didn't stick with me at all after I was done reading. I had to go back and read a recap of the book to jog my memory just to write this review.

Lorelei wants to free her people from the queen that killed her father and stole her throne. She has lost a lot and she is ready to take her throne back. I thought Lorelei was pretty fierce in her mission to kill the evil queen and I had no trouble rooting for her. Kol is now king and he feels the only way to save his kingdom is to enlist the help of the queen of Ravenspire. Little does he know that he will meet the true queen on his journey and have to fight for his life while helping her to get her throne back. Both Lorelai and Kol had some major struggles and I thought they worked in the best way they could to overcome them. Although I could see a bit of a romantic spark their romance didn't jump off the page or make me think they were destined for each other.

The pace was extremely slow at times and things tended to drag a bit in THE SHADOW QUEEN, but I thought the world building was really well done and the supporting characters were well written. I didn't love THE SHADOW QUEEN, but I didn't hate it either. It just was.

I gave it 3/5 stars

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