ARC Guest Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

BookCrushin is thrilled to have been given an ARC of The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine from Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss. I am also very happy to announce we have a new guest reviewer, Teresa Gonzalez! Her bio is included after her review. This is her first review & I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave her some feedback, we would all appreciate the comment love!

 

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Series: Ravenspire #1
Category: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication: February 23rd, 2016; Balzer + Bray
Purchase: Amazon

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.

 

Spoiler-Free Review:

[book rating=5/5]

 

Can I please just say, WOW!

And just in case you missed that official review, I will repeat it…. WOW!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good retelling of my beloved Disney stories, but this book is the best re-visioning of Snow White that I have had the profound pleasure of reading.

Lorelai Deiderich is not the typical teenage heroine that we would see in a fairy tale inspired book. She is not bubbly. She is not sweet. And there are no warm and fuzzy woodland creatures following her around. Lorelai is the rightful crown princess of Ravenspire. There is also the small issue of her being a fugitive on the run from the wicked Queen Irina, who killed Lorelai’s father, and stole the throne to her kingdom. So, as you can see, she definitely has her work cut out for her.

C.J. Redwine did an amazing job of giving us a beautiful, yet deadly main character. One of my favorite things about this book is that from the first page you can tell that Lorelai is no damsel in distress. She takes care of herself, and those that she loves. But there are also some small moments where she is as Wendy Williams would say, “soft and pink”. To me that just makes her character all the more endearing. Don’t we all have those times where we are just trying so hard to do the right thing, but all we want to do is get a hug and maybe cry a little? Ok, maybe that’s just me….but I digress.

There is also a very handsome Prince in the picture, with an agenda of his own. Prince Kol never expected to be king. After his father and older brother are killed by an invading army, this unassuming Prince inherits the responsibility of the survival of his kingdom. Is there anything you wouldn’t do to save the people you love?

The Shadow Queen is packed with action, new creatures, and twists at every corner. This is not the Snow White of cartoons, this is Lorelai the badass! I could not put this book down. In fact, as soon as I finished it I sent Kelly a message asking if this was part of a sequel… Please let it be part of a sequel! I immediately wanted more.

I loved the world that is built in these pages, and I know you will too.

All in all, 5 out of 5 hearts for this book! Pre-order your copy now, you will not be disappointed.

Happy reading!
-T

 

Guest Reviewer Bio: Teresa Gonzalez

My name is Teresa, I was born and raised in Texas. So to get it out of the way…yes I’ve ridden a horse, no I don’t own one. Yes, I wear cowboy boots, they are comfy, but not every day. I don’t wear a cowboy hat, or any other hats usually. And yes, I say “y’all”… A LOT! 🙂 I met Sara in an online author’s fan group, and we hit it off pretty quickly. I am so excited to be invited as a guest reviewer, and get to share some time with all of you lovely people!

I am a busy wife and mom of three. The hubs and I both work in Emergency Medicine. When I am not on the ambulance, or dealing with the misadventures of motherhood, I usually have my nose in a book. And by book I mean my Kindle Fire HDX.

My usual genres include, but are not limited to: Young adult, new adult, paranormal romance, dystopian, and fantasy.

Happy reading!