#BookBirthday & #BookReview: The Queen of Sorrow (The Queens of Renthia #3) by @SarahBethDurst @HarperVoyagerus #Giveaway

About the Book:

The battle between vicious spirits and strong-willed queens that started in the award-winning The Queen of Blood and continued in the powerful The Reluctant Queen comes to a stunning conclusion in The Queen of Sorrow, the final volume of Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy.

Queen Daleina has yearned to bring peace and prosperity to her beloved forest home—a hope that seemed doomed when neighboring forces invaded Aratay. Now, with the powerful Queen Naelin ruling by her side, Daleina believes that her dream of ushering in a new era can be realized, even in a land plagued by malevolent nature spirits who thirst for the end of human life.

And then Naelin’s children are kidnapped by spirits.

Nothing is more important to her than her family, and Naelin would rather watch the world burn than see her children harmed. Blaming the defeated Queen Merecot of Semo for the kidnapping, Naelin is ready to start a war—and has the power to do it.

But Merecot has grander plans than a bloody battle with her southern neighbors. Taking the children is merely one step in a plot to change the future of all Renthia, either by ending the threat of spirits once and for all . . . or plunging the world into chaos.

Reviewed By: Jessica P.  & Lauren L. 

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Fantasy 

How I Acquired this book: Publisher 

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:
Sarah Beth Durst is the award-winning author of sixteen fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love, and The Stone Girl’s Story. She won an ALA Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and has been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat. For more information, visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.


Noteworthy experiences while reading this book:  If you think you know how this is going to end you don't! 

Check out author's other books? Yes
Recommend this book? YES YES YES 

Lauren L. Overall rating: ★★★★★

Notes and Opinions:  This is one book that I could not put down! This story which is the finishing of our lovely queens we have come to know and love left me wanting more. But it was also a great ending. I know that we are getting another story via the islands that are mentioned in this one as well as located on the map. I hope to see more of these characters in that one.  But this one gave me all the bookish feels. It takes us out of the world of young adult and fully into the epic adult fantasy that I could have never dreamed of. This one told again in alternating POVs of the characters was a dream come true.  I loved every page of this wonderful world that Durst has created and I am sad to see that journal come to an end.  This one picks up shortly after book two ends we now have two queens and it seems like peace is on the horizon for our queens.  Yet that is not to be. This story was a rollercoaster of emotions and I never knew what was going to happen. As as the pages flew by I wondered if there was going to be enough to give each character (esp. Byan) the ending that they each needed and what I wanted for them.  But after getting to the last page I can say without a doubt this book was pretty perfect!  

I couldn't have asked for more if I tried. I still would love another story after this one that dealt with characters but I am happy with what I have been given.  If you are looking for an epic adventure of many characters that will grow throughout this amazing journal then pick up this series now!!! It won't do you wrong! 

Go Into This One Knowing: Epic Journal, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Action and more! 


Jessica P. Review  Overall rating: ★★★★
Notes and Opinions: I have been a fan of this series since it started and I was so happy to be approved for book three. I was also happy to hear we were getting another book set in this world.  What I wasn't so happy about was the ending this one gave us.  I felt like it was rushed and that the author just needed to sum up this world. We didn't get the happily ever after I was hoping for either. Although we did get an uneasy peace it felt to me like it was unfinished and was not a true ending. Although the world went on.  This one was full of emotions and I really did love learning more about the creation story of the spirits. But the introduction of other parts of Renthia just made it sound more like this story wasn't over.  So it left me wanting even more.  I hope that although the back of this book says were only getting one stand alone.  I hope that we get more.  This book gave us more about Byan who I fell in love with. I would love to have a story about how he came to be.  We also got new information about those with ties to powers which was very interesting.  Overall with all the new information were given in this story I can't help but think its not over.

The characters and world in this one are ever vibrant as always and I just couldn't put it down!! It was just that good!  I loved every bit of it even though as I said before it left me wanting so much more.  I will miss the Queens of Renthia so much and I hope to see more of them down the road.

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Posted in: 4 Stars, 5 Stars, Giveaway, HarperCollins, Jessica P., Review, Young Adult