Title : The Queen’s Resistance
Author : Rebecca Ross
Publisher : Harper Teen
480 pages
Rating : 5/5
Goodreads Synopsis
The highly anticipated sequel to The Queen’s Rising!
Finally, Brienna is a mistress of knowledge and is settling into her role as the daughter of Davin MacQuinn, a disgraced lord who returned to Maevana to reclaim his house. Though she’d just survived a revolution, one that will finally return a queen to the throne, she faces another difficult challenge. She must prove herself trustworthy to the MacQuinns. But as Queen Isolde Kavanagh’s closest confidant, she’ll have to balance serving her father’s house as well as her country. And then there’s Cartier, a wholly separate but desirable factor in her new life.
Aodhan Morgane, formerly known as Cartier Évariste, is adjusting to the stark contrast between his pre-rebellion life in Valenia as a master of knowledge and his current one as the lord of a fallen house. During his castle’s restoration, he discovers a ten-year-old boy named Tomas, whose past and parentage are a complete mystery. So when Cartier’s former pupil Brienna is as taken with Tomas as he is, he lets his mind wander—what if he doesn’t have to raise him or his house alone?
As the Lannon trial rapidly approaches, Brienna and Cartier must put their feelings aside to concentrate on forging alliances, executing justice, and ensuring that no one interferes with the queen’s coronation. But resistance is rumbling among the old regime’s supporters, who are desperate to find a weakness in the rebels’ forces. And nothing makes a person more vulnerable than deep-seated love.
Review
“If you were a storm, I would lie down and rest in your rain. If you were a river, I would drink from your currents. If you were a poem, I would never cease to read you. I adore the girl you once were, and I love the woman you have become.”
― Rebecca Ross, The Queen’s Resistance
I received The Queen’s Rising in a ShelfLove Crate monthly subscription box and fell in love with Rebecca Ross’ writing style. It flows so naturally and is so… creamy. I know that’s a weird adjective to use to describe writing, but it is just so smooth and effortless. It’s like she pulled words out of her brain seamlessly without even trying. I’m not doing a good job of describing this… so ya’ll will have to just trust and check her out on your own!
Now, I received a finished copy of The Queen’s Resistance for free from Harper Teen (thanks, ya’ll!) – and I couldn’t be more grateful. First off, I was dying to get my hands on the sequel because ORIGINALLY TQR was going to be a stand alone novel. It totally could have been, but having more closure is NEVER a bad thing in my mind. Write ALL the books folks! I will continue to buy them and read them and love them. TQR ended with everything wrapped up, but The Queen’s Resistance brought a new level of depth to not only the world but the characters.
So, if you haven’t read The Queen’s Rising you should turn back now. Honestly, unless you never ever plan on reading it. I will be talking some major spoilers hear so last chance to run away!
Let’s start off with the current events. We have Lannon now deposed as King of Maevana and Queen Isolde is trying to reunite a broken country. Not an easy feat. She has the backing of her tried and true lords, but they must go out and convince the other lords that the Kavanaghs should be on the throne once more. This includes convincing Lannon’s allies, which is nigh impossible. But they try anyway! Brienna is staying with the MacQuinn’s as Davin’s adopted daughter, and Cartier is now Lord Aodhan Morghane (but Brienna will only ever see him as Cartier). The gang sets out to convince the country of Isolde’s worthiness, but trouble ensues when Brienna is proposed to by a rival Lord’s son, and a Lannon descendant finds his way to Cartier to beg for help. The intrigue with Tomas was beautiful, and it wasn’t until the end when you found out his true intentions. Brienna is kidnapped and rescued at the last moment. It’s all very exciting.
Character wise, I adored being able to really flesh out Brienna and Cartier. They spend the whole book having a very PG dalliance while trying to sort out their respective futures and identities. I really appreciated Cartier’s POV being added to this book so you could get a glimpse behind the scenes with him. He really went through an admirable character arc and it was nice to get more detail. And that ENDING! – ugh, my heart.
Last thing I will say, when Cartier tries for Brienna’s hand in marriage I near cried. That speech he gave to Brienna is a part of the book I will read over and over forever. It’s everything you would want your true love to not only say, but feel towards you.
Overall, I fell in love with Rebecca Ross’ writing with this duology and will quite literally read just about anything she publishes – even if it is only her grocery list. Go read this, now!
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