The Queen Will Betray You by Sarah Henning Series: Kingdoms of Sand and Sky #2
Published by Tor Teen on 2021-07-06
Length: 364 pages
Reviewing Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Reading Challenges: 2024 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2024 COYER Unwind
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The breathtaking sequel to Sarah Henning's The Princess Will Save You--a brilliantly-executed YA fantasy homage to The Princess Bride
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE CROWN…
After a thousand years of political stability, the realm of The Sand and Sky is up for grabs. Four kingdoms, four rulers vying for the ultimate prize, sovereignty over the entire continent: A ruthless old king spinning webs, whose schemes encompass generations. A widowed queen whose only credo is all kings must die. A runaway queen whose unexpected return upends everyone’s plans. And a prince-in-waiting determined to wait no more.
Standing against them are a dispossessed princess and her stable boy love with a surprising claim of his own. Their only hope in the face of unspeakable betrayals, enemies hidden in the shadows, and insurmountable odds is the power of true love...
Please note that if you haven’t read book one, there may be spoilers to it in this review. Read at your own risk.
What an adventure! The Queen Will Betray You by Sarah Henning is the second book in the trilogy Kingdoms of Sand and Sky that follows a princess and her stableboy out to save their kingdoms. This story picks up almost immediately where book one left off so we are thrust back into the action. Ama and Luca are on Ardenian soil once more, but they need to separate Ama to her kingdom and Luca to his. Neither want to do this. They just got each other back, however their duty to their people wins out. As the recently discovered lost prince, Luca must find a way to connect to the rebellion in his kingdom if he has a chance of saving it, and Ama must return to Ardenia and warn them that war is coming in the aftermath of her decisions. The plan is for her to return to the Torrent and connect with Luca once she receives word from him, but someone has other plans in store for them.
There is SO much character growth in this one. While I enjoyed Ama and Luca in book one, I love them both equally here. Ama is just as determined, loyal, and fierce as she was in book one. However, she has more at stake now, more to lose and more to save. She is desperate to save her people, but also save Luca so she can have forever with him. Luca is still reeling from the discovery that he is the lost prince of Torrence. However everything he learned from King Sendoa, being raised alongside his princess, comes to the forefront, and suddenly his education, his friendship with Ama makes sense. He has a purpose and a destiny to fulfill with Ama at his side.
While book one’s plot moves at a break-neck pace, this one moves at lightning speed. I could not read it fast enough. Prison breaks, a trek through the desert, betrayal at every turn….seriously this book is full of adventure and high stakes. The surprise coup at the end of book one introduces Ferdinand, Ama’s half brother and undeniable son of King Sendoa. I loved his addition. I can’t wait to get to know him better in the next book. Talliefer is also back and on the run with Ama. He grew on me, though I kept waiting on Ama to kill him 😂 He can be infuriating.
Overall, The Queen Will Betray You is a fantastic read. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was completely immersed in the story. I did not want to sit it down to do anything. It was like impulsive. I needed to know what happened next. SO thankful book three is already available. As soon as I’m done writing this, I’m diving in. If you are a fan of fantasy adventures, sword fights, and romance, I highly recommend it.
About Sarah Henning
Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team.
Sarah is the author of SEA WITCH, which was an Indies Introduce and Indie's Next selection. Its follow up, SEA WITCH RISING, is out now. Her first YA contemporary, about a down-spiraling softball player who is recruited to play quarterback on her ex-boyfriend's football team, comes out January 7th, 2020 and is called THROW LIKE A GIRL. Also scheduled for 2020 is the first book in her next fantasy duology--a feminist tale inspired by The Princess Bride--called THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU, is out in summer.
Glad you are enjoying your series.
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I didn’t read too closely since I haven’t read the first book, just wanted mainly to see your rating, and glad to see it got 4 stars! I really do need to read this and I need to make sure to have the whole series in the library for one of my students who I know will devour it! Great review, or at least what I let myself read was good, lol.
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