Monday, August 29, 2011

Review: The Wild Queen by Cheri Chesley

I had the chance to meet Cheri Chesley last weekend.  And I blew it.  We were signing books at the same booth for Stansbury Days, but Cheri took the morning shift and I took the afternoon shift and we only met briefly as I was coming and she was going.  Anyway, I wanted to read one of her books before I met her.  Cheri's book, The Peasant Queen, was published by Cedar Fort in Dec. 2010.  The Wild Queen is the prequel, so I thought I'd start with that.

I'm acutally thinking I might have enjoyed The Wild Queen more if I had read The Peasant Queen first, but that's not to say I didn't like The Wild Queen.  I did.  It had kind of a fairy-tale-ish quality to it, and yet it wasn't like a fairy tale at all.  Are we clear on that?

I liked the story.  I liked that Roweena rode to Demarde when she needed help.  And I liked that she made it.  I liked all the characters.  They were adequately developed and easy to like even though they each had their faults.  In places the writing felt rushed, moving the story along too quickly, like summing up the story, while in others the action was quite slow.  But I never had a problem being interested, I kept wanting to turn pages, and I found it very appropriate for the YA audience it was intended for.  There was action, mystery, and romance.  It is a nice clean read I would recommend to anyone. 

Here is the Goodreads summary that will sum it up better than I can.

"In the exciting prequel to The Peasant Queen, Roweena is the crown princess of Norvallen, a tiny kingdom with only one thing of value-the Healer's Grove. The trees in this small section of forest are enchanted, giving a sap that can be mixed into potions or salves to heal almost any wound.

And it's in high demand.

Lucien, the young king of neighboring Demarde, comes to Roweena's father seeking an alliance, but comes away with a marriage contract for young Roweena's hand. Furious and stubborn, this untamed beauty vows he will never conquer her. But the contract purposely gives her time to come to terms with her fate.

Before Lucien can return, Roweena's home is attacked and her parents are murdered. The Healer's Grove is also attacked-burned to the ground. With nothing more than her horse and the clothes on her back, Roweena goes to the only person she knows can help her. Lucien."

1 comment:

Donna K. Weaver said...

I've got this on my to read list.