The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine

Series: Ravenspire #1
400 p.
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: 2/16/16
Source: Edelweiss and publisher for review

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 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.

My thoughts:

Hm... two words: Dragon. Shifter.

*drops mic*

Yea, I thought so. Seems like I'm not the only one who goes running when those two words are uttered... or written. ;) I also love retellings. I love to see what new things authors can come up with, with tales we are all familiar. This one also had me thinking of the movie "Snow White and the Huntsman" especially the evil queen. She seems like Charlieze Theron could step into this role in this book and live there since she is the one that stole that movie. I wouldn't be surprised to learn she had something to do with the inspiration for the queen.

Now this is different than the movie. I loved Lorelai as a heroine and as a character. No matter how dark things got, she found a way to go on and do what was needed to be done to save the kingdom. No, this isn't a save the princess book, she does all the saving. Unfortunately there were moments when she wasn't perfect and didn't save the one imperiled, but although heartbreaking, it lent some reality to our fantasy. It did make it feel more real. Kol is also a great leading man. He is trying to save his kingdom and knows when to ask for help (how many male heroes can say that?). I love how he sacrificed and found his way in the story. I also loved their romance that was not insta love but did take time and some magic to accomplish.

I give this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book and now I'm curious to see where the author takes us next since this book seemed pretty complete as it is.

Couldn't resist. She is so like the queen here.