Elena Reviews: The Queen's Rising {The Queen's Rising #1} By Rebecca Ross

Title: The Queen's Rising

{The Queen's Rising #1}

Author: Rebecca Ross

Publication Date: February 2018

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron.

Growing up in the southern Kingdom of Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her for such a life. While some are born with an innate talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she belatedly chose to study knowledge. However, despite all her preparations, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true—the solstice does not go according to plan and she is left without a patron.

Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, and with no other choices, she accepts. But there is much more to his story, and Brienna soon discovers that he has sought her out for his own vengeful gain. For there is a dangerous plot being planned to overthrow the king of Maevana—the archrival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involved—some closer to Brienna than she realizes.

With war brewing between the two lands, Brienna must choose whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood. Because a queen is destined to rise and lead the battle to reclaim the crown. The ultimate decision Brienna must determine is: Who will be that queen? 

I wanna start this review by saying that, The Queen's Rising was one of my most anticipated reads of the year! And that's pretty important since I was kind of disappointed by it! The start was very promising and there were some elements I really enjoyed but, I have a lot of things to say about the the things that didn't really work out so, let's get this party started! There might be some small spoilers here so, brace yourselves if you haven't read the book yet. I never spoil things when it comes to written reviews but, for this one, I'll make an exception because I'm extremely frustrated and I desperately need to get all of these feelings out by sharing them with the world! 

First of all, I found the writing to be very accessible and the book itself was quite easy to read so, if you're a newbie when it comes to the Genre or if you're just looking for something light, this is definitely it! Otherwise, if you enjoy the sort of Fantasy that's a bit more complex and well thought out, stay away from this one! The world was interesting enough and the plot itself had great potential but, it just fell short. It wasn't taken advantage of which is such a shame because of how much better it could've been! I'm not going to get into details about the whole story but, I'm going to focus on some things that I personally found problematic! 

I'm going to start with the characters since they're technically the main focus of the novel! I really liked Brienna but, I can't really say that I cared much about her. She's loyal and determined to see things through, even though nothing is guaranteed and she might die in the process. Her sense of bravery was truly impressive but, there were times when things went perfectly for her... I mean, so much luck is just unrealistic, even when it comes to Fantasy. It was like the author followed this straight path towards the winning battle that wasn't even a battle and suddenly, it was just over. And guess what happened? She won! The King was overthrown, the rightful Queen regained her throne and all was well in the land of ''nothing ever goes wrong for Brienna''. The majority of the book is dedicated to the creation of this elaborate plan which will benefit the Kingdom and finally bring an end to the tyranny and injustice that's been going on for generations. And everything works out perfectly! What's the problem with that you might ask? It was so damn predictable that I was ready to actually tear my eyes out because of this overwhelming frustration that took over me and wouldn't let go! There were no obstacles, no plot twists and nothing that I did not see coming from more than a mile away! It was just too easy, nothing happened to make me fell something and I was in this weird state of apathy while reading the book which has never happened to me before, believe it or not! 

The history behind the Kingdoms and what happened to tear them apart was actually interesting, I'm not gonna lie but, it was definitely not a redeeming quality for me as a reader. The book started out great but, as it progressed, it just became mediocre. Nothing exciting happened to keep me on the edge, the ending was so convenient and rushed it made me want to scream my head out! And to top it all off, the romance aspect was so obvious it made me want to throw up! Okay, I'm being a bit harsh here because I really enjoyed the relationship that developed between Cartier and Brienna but, IT WAS JUST TOO PREDICTABLE!!! If I had to use just one word to describe this book, that would be it! I really liked Cartier, he was quite evasive and mysterious in a positive way but, he truly cared! He also played a bigger part in the novel, which was also...drum roll please! Predictable! Some people had trouble with the fact that, he was technically her teacher and he actually met her when she was just ten years old but, I love teacher/student romances, especially when they're executed in a way that works but, I can definitely understand why some people might be uncomfortable with them! 

The pace of the story was okay but, the ending was extremely rushed and left me with a lot of questions. The majority of the things that happened throughout the novel weren't really explained and the plot holes they left behind were not filled. One thing I really liked though, were the secondary characters! I feel like they really made the experience of reading this book better and without them, it would've been lacking even more. 

Somethings also got a bit repetitive without actually being resolved, which was quite annoying to say the lease. I know I'm throwing all of these negative thoughts your way but, I always try to be as honest as possible when it comes to expressing myself and sharing my opinions on every single book that I read. Quick side note, the synopsis is kind of misleading so, just keep that in mind while you're reading the book. Brienna is not sought out by anyone in order to fulfill a vengeful gain. On the contrary, she's the one who needs his help in interpreting these random visions she has so, he basically takes her in. The plan is hers in case you were wondering so, nobody forces her to do anything she doesn't want to do. 

Overall, The Queen's Rising was nothing special and gets a 2.75 rating from me, as a reader. I wanted to get my hands on it so badly but unfortunately, I wasn't really satisfied with what I came across in its pages. It was still a fun read but, what bothered me the most was how convenient and rushed things were. Everything was just okay and nothing stood out. The writing was fine, the characters underdeveloped, the romance unnecessary and the family dynamics non existent. If you're just getting into the Fantasy genre, this is an easy enough novel to read but, if you're looking for something suspenseful and well thought out, this is definitely not for you!

Until the next post,