The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1)

Synopsis

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 Irina's 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.

Loved

• Lorelai. Initially I didn't really like Lorelai because she didn't seem to have much personality. However, she quickly grew on me and I loved her character by the end of the book. She is a refreshing princess because she's not ditzy and submissive, but she's also not so intense or bratty that she's unrelatable. Lorelai is definitely feisty- I laughed out loud at some of her pragmatic comments telling people exactly how things are and putting them in their place. She's strong, but also very compassionate, very selfless, and she has a sense of humor. She definitely adds the much needed vibrance and color the original Snow White decidedly lacks.

• Kol. I loved Kol immediately- mostly because I knew he was going to have a lot of personality when the first thing we know about him is a prank he played on his teacher. Kol is goofy, but extremely loyal to his kingdom and his friends, which gives him the strength to overcome Irina's torture. Oh, and did I mention Kol is a DRAGON? Sign me up.

• The romance. Kol and Lorelai's relationship is complicated because of the he-is-bound-to-tear-her-heart-out-and-give-it-to-the-evil-queen thing, but I loved watching them, especially Kol, fight and sacrifice so much for each other. They are both very passionate about those they care about and extremely driven to fight for their kingdoms, but they are very different in their personalities. Kol's witty banter and teasing is the perfect complement to Lorelai's matter-of-fact, straightforward thinking. I love these two and I hope we get to see more of them throughout the series :)

• The intensity. This was a little darker of a fairytale than I had expected, but the Ravenspire world is gripping and fascinating. The plot was so fast-paced that I couldn't turn the pages quick enough trying to keep up with the bold magic and Irina's desperation constantly raising the stakes higher and higher.

• The Draconi. Okay Snow White with DRAGONS? Yes please. I had no idea dragons would be in this story, so I was so stoked when I realized Kol is a dragon. All the Draconi are so loyal and fierce, but so funny and I loved their personalities. This added such a fun twist to a familiar fairytale.

Didn't Love

• I really enjoyed this story, but it was a little darker than I expected. Irina is one of those villains that makes you shiver every time she appears on a page. She is very bloodthirsty and does a lot of disturbing things to innocent people in this story.

• The magic was fascinating and at the back of the book we get a glossary of "incantors," which helped me see that there was rhyme and reason behind the magic- not just arbitrary words thrown out. The magic at times was a little confusing because the way it was used changed frequently and the magic system itself is never explained- we just know it's used in a certain kingdom by "mardushkas." I wish we knew more about the magic and how it works so we could have a deeper understanding of the plot, since magic is constantly being used. 

Content

• Language: 
• No swearing, just expressions from the book "Skies above," "Skies help us," etc.

• Sexual content: 
• Some kisses between the two main characters- not much is described since they are interrupted every time . . . :0
• A few kisses described as passionate and desperate between the villain and her lover. There are references to him "sharing her bed" with him, but nothing described.
• When Draconi switch from dragons to human form, they are naked. In a few scenes, one character won't put on pants and the princess refuses to talk to him until he does so. No body parts described.

• Violence:
• As I mentioned, Irina is a bloodthirsty villain and she does some pretty dark things.
• A very disturbing scene where a mother stabs her four small children and then stabs herself because she feels it would be more merciful than letting them starve to death.
• A few scenes where the queen questions prisoners and then takes the life out of their hearts and puts it in her heart. A pile of bodies is mentioned a few times.
• Many references to the queen manipulating her subjects by having them eat rotten apples. They do her bidding and kill anyone at her bidding. These scenes are pretty disturbing since they are under manipulation.
• One woman is pinned to the wall and vomits apples for weeks, which apples are eaten by the subjects as poison.
• One character is caught in the queen's snare and killed with her poison. Described as poison going through his veins and stopping his heart.
• Many attempts to kill the princess through creative and brutal means.
• One character is tortured throughout the whole book and feels intense pain (usually described as fire) going through his body and mind.
• Many references to Irina wanting Lorelai's heart (her literal, physical heart ;)
• The queen takes out one character's heart and puts it in a box. She uses the heart to do magic.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I loved this version of Snow White! I wish the original Snow White had Lorelai's pragmatic attitude, daring cleverness, and fierce compassion (I do like the original Snow White, she just doesn't have too much personality that she's aware of . . . ) I loved Kol and Lorelai's relationship and their dedication to serving their people. I loved the fast-moving and intense plot with quick turns and interesting magic. I do wish the magic system was a little clearer, and I do wish it wasn't quite so dark at times- but other than that I loved this book! I would give it 4-4.5 stars and I highly recommend it if you enjoy fairytale retellings.