Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she’s also become queen of the Thorn Land. It’s hardly an envious life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one—except Eugenie—seems willing to find out why.
Eugenie has spilled plenty of fey blood in her time, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and nursing a very personal grudge. And the men in her life aren’t making things any easier. Her boyfriend Kiyo is preoccupied with his pregnant ex, and sexy fey king Dorian always poses a dangerous distraction. With or without their help, Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in an unpredictable power she can barely control. Reluctant queen or not, Eugenie has sworn to do her duty—even if it means facing the darkest—and deadliest—side of her nature. . .
I thought Storm Born was a very promising start to Mead’s Dark Swan series. It introduced characters that you wanted to follow, a world that you wanted to explore further, and generally left you wanting more. I got a whole lot and more out of Thorn Queen.
Since spoiling the story is out of the question, all I can say is that I was hardly prepared for events that transpired in this book. I had one of those moments where, before you turn the page, you stop and say, “No. That’s not going to happen.” But it did. And it made me uncomfortable, made the story dig deeper, and gave me an ending that I could most definitely appreciate.
One of my main issues with the first book was the love triangle. For one, it seems like there are triangles popping up everywhere and they’re becoming square, you know? Plus, I fell for one guy in particular, and was worried. So, going in to Thorn Queen I wondered how it was going to be handled. I wouldn’t say that it is necessarily resolved, but I wasn’t at all aggravated by how it played out. That’s a plus.
All in all, I was entertained by Thorn Queen and can’t wait for the next one.
Hmm. Sounds like an interesting series. Will keep this one in mind.