Battle for the Black Queen
Hi everyone, this week I’m reviewing Battle for the Black Queen by Niamh and Rebecca Schmid. It’s the latest in their TetraWorld series combining medieval fantasy, steampunk and sci-fi. I love this series, so it’s no great surprise I loved their latest entry! You’ll see my review below but for now, here’s the blurb to give you a flavour of the book:
The Blurb
Astra is safe in Litash….
Or is she? After her presence is revealed to the Court of Litash, she is put on trial for breaking the terms of her exile. But things in Litash are much worse than Astra realized and she soon finds that Tyron’s obsession with her has spread chaos across the continent.
When Astra finally stumbles upon the true goal behind Tyron’s twisted Game, she’s faced with a choice that leaves worlds hanging in the balance. Can she risk the ones she loves to finish The Game? What will happen when Tyron decides to raise the stakes?
Battle for the Black Queen – My Review
It was wonderful to step back into this series and meet up with Astra and Louko once more. First of all Astra must do battle in court to stay in her home of Litash, but not everything in the trial is as it seems. Astra has no choice but to continue to play the cruel game old enemy Tyron has set out before them… but not everything may be as it seems for Tyron, either.
As this is now the 5th book in the series, naturally the cast of characters has gotten bigger. The characters from the different worlds begin to overlap, too. However, the authors’ clarity of writing means it is pretty clear to follow. The recap is helpful and succinct, meaning that if the reader does get confused, it’s easy to still follow the overall thread.
Like with the previous books, the character development shines the brightest. Astra and Louko’s friendship grows ever stronger, with real moments of warmth – as well as hilarty. I especially loved the way the characters of Tyron, Keeshiff and Mariah developed too.
As well as the wonderful character development, the rich worldbuiding is immersive. Yet it’s also accessible and not at all ‘info-dumpy’. Readers unfamiliar to the series could possiby be confused with the different regions, but again, the authors’ clear writing soon makes this clear.
There are also plenty of action scenes, brilliant twists and masterful building of tension, especially as the novel draws towards its end.
Highly Recommended
This book is highly recommended, but I suggest you read the other novels in the series first. It probably could be read as a stand-alone, but it could be tricky to follow the different threads if you haven’t read the previous books. All the other books are amazing, so you won’t be disappointed!
Also, I recommend reading Askefise, a prequel novel to the series. It’s probably not as necessary to read as the main series, but this explores the background of one or two central characters. I won’t give away any spoilers, but having read Askefise, I think it gave the latest book a greater level of poignancy regarding a certain character…
So, I loved Battle for the Black Queen! Here are the links below for checking it out on Amazon. You should also be able to see the previous books in the series on the page.
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed my review of Battle for the Black Queen. What have you been reading recently? I’d love to connect with you – you can drop a comment or hit the social media icons below, or you can head to my contact me page.
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Till next time,
Maria 🙂