2018 Debut Author Challenge
Blog Tour & ARC Review: The Queen's Rising (The Queen’s Rising #1) by Rebecca Ross (+US giveaway)
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Series: The Queen's Rising #1
Author: Rebecca Ross
Published February 6th 2018 by HarperTeen
Goodreads Summary
When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron.
Growing up in the southern Kingdom of Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her for such a life. While some are born with an innate talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she belatedly chose to study knowledge. However, despite all her preparations, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true—the solstice does not go according to plan and she is left without a patron.
Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, and with no other choices, she accepts. But there is much more to his story, and Brienna soon discovers that he has sought her out for his own vengeful gain. For there is a dangerous plot being planned to overthrow the king of Maevana—the archrival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involved—some closer to Brienna than she realizes.
With war brewing between the two lands, Brienna must choose whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood. Because a queen is destined to rise and lead the battle to reclaim the crown. The ultimate decision Brienna must determine is: Who will be that queen?
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
When I first heard about this book, I was immediately intrigued, because I'm always on the lookout for new fantasy series, especially from debut, or new to me, authors. I preordered it as soon as I could - thank you Christmas money, and discount codes - and when my copy came around my birthday, I dove straight in.
The Queen's Rising tells the story of Brienna, who when she was a young girl was sent to the exclusive Magnalia House school, in order to master a passion in one of the five main arts. Her only problem, she doesn't have any particular affinity to one in particular, instead she can master a bit of each. When she finally decides to pursue the passion of Knowledge, with only 3 years left to master it, rather than the usual 7, she's in a for a bit of a struggle. Her main hope is her master, Cartier, who's life before the school is very mysterious. They have a connection with their love of folklore and history in particular, and when they discuss the legendary queens of Maevana, something clicks in Bri, and she begins to have visions that are so realistic, it's as if she actually lived in the past, rather than a simple memory.
This is the least of Bri's current problems, though, as she has had no-one to become her patron, and ends up jumping at the opportunity to travel to Maevana with a man called Jourdain, who masquerades as her father, in order to protect both her, and himself. Brienna knows her grandfather always told her never to go to Maevana, for her safety, but she can't help wanting to know just why she needs to stay away. As she learns more about herself, and her family history in Maevana, she finds herself entangled in a coup to restore the Kavanagh family to their rightful throne.
Every single thing about this book was outstanding, from the plot, to the characters, to the sublime world building. For a lover of fantasy, I couldn't believe how much I loved the book, and how different it seemed from others. And, for a history lover, it has the perfect amount of historical reference that intrigue my own knowledge, and made me think so much of Scottish history. Obviously, Ross has done her research in order to make the book as genuine as possible, and I can't wait to see where she goes with the rest of the story in subsequent books.
The romance in the novel was slow burning, and at times I was questioning whether they would be able to be together, but it had all the feels, and was perfect for what the story needed. Unlike some other fantasy books you read where the relationships ends up taking over from the plot, this was more of an added bonus, and when the plot needed precedence over any sort of romance drawing away attention, it took a back seat - really, the plot never suffered, and I loved that. As much as I adore reading relationships in books, I hate if that takes away from the whole story line, and, luckily, The Queen's Rising didn't suffer from this.
All in all, I'm so happy I bought this book, and can't wait to get my hands on book two, because the ending of this one was perfect, but left enough there for me to question what would happen to all my favourites, and just how everyone would react and recover from all the revelations.
Dates Read:
March 11-12, 2018Rating
5 Stars
Rebecca Ross grew up in Georgia, where she continues to reside with her husband, lively dog and endless piles of books. She received her bachelor's degree in English from UGA. In the past she has worked at a Colorado dude ranch, as a school librarian, and as a live-time captionist for a college.
Rebecca writes fantasy for young adult readers. Her debut novel, THE QUEEN'S RISING, will be out February 6, 2018 from HarperTeen.
LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Giveaway (1 US Winner will receive a Copy of THE QUEEN’S RISING (+Swags) by Rebecca Ross):
