The Queen's Wing
The Queen's Wing
by Jessica Thorne
4 out of 5Synopsis
‘I was born to fly,’ I told my brothers. But it isn’t true. I was born to be a pawn in the great game of royal houses, married to someone – anyone – my family deems suitable. If I’m lucky, he’ll be my own age and bearable. If I’m very lucky, he’ll be someone who understands my need to fight, and to fly...
Bel, born to nobility, would do anything to spend her days alongside her brothers – soaring through the heavens in her beloved flyer. She’s faster than any of them, but she knows her days in the skies are numbered.
When a surprise attack on the palace lands Bel’s father on the throne, her life is forever changed. In order to secure her father’s empire, Bel must travel to a distant land to marry the recently widowed young ruler, Conleith.
But Bel’s new home is less than welcoming: compared to the refined ladies at court, Bel seems like a wild woman, and assassination attempts, treason and mystery threaten her at every turn. With a growing attraction to Con, her life is further complicated by the attentive leader of her bodyguards – a warrior called Shae whom she has loved since childhood…
Review
Bel isn't a princess, she's a distant relative of the King, and is allowed to follow her dream of fighting and flying.
When tragedy strikes, Bel is thrown into a role she never prepared for; but perhaps she is the Queen that the empire needs.
I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This story follow Bel, a Vairian noble who had the luck to grow up away from the pressures of court. She has trained all her life, to fight, and most of all to fly. She wants nothing more than to be a hero like her mother, and to spend time with her best friend/crush Shae.
After an attack on the capital wipes out the Royal house, Bel and her family are thrust into roles they never prepared for.
Before she can come to terms with any of it, Bel is shipped off to marry a complete stranger, for the sake of a political alliance. When she arrives at the incredibly elegant Anthaeus, Bel constantly feels like an outsider, and a barbarian.
The first half of this book was pleasant, but felt familiar. Despite the sci-fi setting, it felt like the standard YA story, with a girl who is "different" and pretty-but-doesn't-know-it. There's clearly some setting up of a love triangle, with Shae and Bel's new fiance Conleith. Bel is a duck out of water, and has to suffer the casual contempt of the people she is supposed to rule, along with a few that ramp up their poor treatment of her.
It was nice, and interesting enough, and at first I thought this was just going to be a light read.
The second half kicked off in a way I didn't expect. The universal enemies - the Gravians, and the re-animated corpses that make up their army (yes, you read that right) - arrive and all hell breaks loose.
Suddenly, having a barbarian queen that fights and flies is the only hope Anthaeus has.
The plot keeps you guessing, and is brilliantly original from this point.
This reads as a stand-alone, but I'm happy to see there will be further books in this series.
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