Monday, July 31, 2017

The Queen of Swords by R. S. Belcher

Series: Golgotha #3
364 p.
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 6/27/17
Source: From publisher for review
1870. Maude Stapleton, late of Golgotha, Nevada, is a respectable widow raising a daughter on her own. Few know that Maude belongs to an ancient order of assassins, the Daughters of Lilith, and is as well the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Anne Bonney, the legendary female pirate.

Leaving Golgotha in search of her daughter Constance, who has been taken from her, Maude travels to Charleston, South Carolina, only to find herself caught in the middle of a secret war between the Daughters of Lilith and their ancestral enemies, the monstrous Sons of Typhon. To save Constance, whose prophetic gifts are sought by both cults, Maude must follow in the footsteps of Anne Bonney as she embarks on a perilous voyage that will ultimately lead her to a lost city of bones in the heart of Africa—and the Father of All Monsters.
My thoughts:

I haven't read the first two in the series and judging by the book I thought it was an offshoot series. It is not, but firmly a part of a series. I was not lost as I think Anne Bonney and her descendants take center stage in this one but not center in the other books. I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would but it made me crave more of Anne Bonney's story and I think I'll get some of it when I go back to read the other books in the series. Tor, if you are listening... I'd love to read those other books... *hint* 😉

This story flits back and forth between timelines. The time is stamped on each chapter but even if you didn't pay attention to it, you would not be lost. In this instance Anne's story is more of a supportive role to tell Maude's story but she doesn't take the back seat. In fact, I think she may have stole the show... but it fits her character well.

The weakest parts were with the Sons of Typhon and with Typhon himself. He doesn't quite make my most feared villains but perhaps that is because I haven't read the other stories. He lacked depth but I'm not real sure that bothers me. He was a good backdrop and a reason for the tale we got and I really wanted more of Anne and the sisters of Lilith and that background story.

I give this book 4 stars. While I think you could dive into this one as I did and not be lost, be prepared to want more of Anne's story. I have a feeling you'll be wanting either her own book all to herself or at least the other books in this series. I want both. I recommend it to those that enjoy fantasy and pirates you would sail with around the world.

64 comments:

  1. Thanks for the honest and great review. Sounds like a decent read, and the cover is nice too. Greetings!

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  2. Ooh, this sounds really good! I'm glad you enjoyed this and I'll definitely be checking out this author. Wonderful review and thanks for putting this on my radar!

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    1. You might want to start with the first two books as it did feel like missing information, but I think you could easily read it like I did. :)

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  3. I'm gonna have to check out book one!! :D

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  4. Glad you weren't too lost jumping into this. Boo that it wasn't labeled right but glad it was a good story nonetheless. ;)

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    1. No and it was probably all my fault for not looking closer. It was still pretty good. :)

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  5. I love a good pirate book and I am happy that you enjoyed this one. I will have to check it out!

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  6. Females assassins + pirates?! Sign me up! :) This one sounds like so much fun and I like the shifting timeline aspect. Glad this one worked so well for you - even if you were jumping in mid-series.

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

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  7. Huh... sounds interesting. Too bad it wasn't the first in a new series. Will you go back and read the first two now?

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    1. I really would like to read them. I think I'll get a bit of what I want but I still have a feeling that I'll like this one more.

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    2. Also... is this YA? or Teen appropriate? I'm looking at the first book now.

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    3. I think it is adult because the main characters are adult but could be read by teens (although there are YA characters throughout the book). Nothing over the top that would make it non-YA.

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  8. Switching between timelines can be confusing.

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  9. This sounds like I would enjoy. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

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  10. You slay me with how you can jump into the third book. Gads I love the cover and you have me wanting to try these...from the beginning..LOL

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    1. Well, I like to live dangerously. LOL I also want to start from the beginning. :)

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  11. I read the sampler of this and that led me to the first book, Six Gun Tarot, which I liked. It's definitely quirky and different. I liked what I read of Anne in the sampler, she seems pretty badass. Glad you liked this one. :)

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  12. I was unaware of this series, but I think it might be my thing, too. Love pirate stories like Anne Bonney's so its neat that she's in this one.

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  13. Third in a series and you didn't get lost. That is great, but I fear that I would just be lost. I have done it before in error for a book from Net Galley and then find myself rushing to at least read the first and even second books so I won't be lost. I am glad it ended up being a good one for you!

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    1. Not lost but I did feel like I missed something (not critical) by skipping.

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  14. Whew for not being too lost. Hope you enjoy getting back to the others :)

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  15. This sounds like a great series and thank goodness you didn't get lost with it being book 3.

    A lovely review!

    Sharon - Obsession with Books

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  16. For some reason,I really don't like that cover.

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  17. Always a surprise when you pick up a book that's part of a series instead of being a stand alone, but good to know that you didn't feel lost! Anne Bonney sounds like a fascinating character, so hope you're able to find more books about her!

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    1. I have a feeling it would have been my favorite anyway. :)

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  18. Sounds cool. I like the cover. ❤️

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  19. You haven't read the first two books but you still enjoyed it?! That's really something. I think I'm going to check this one out. Plus, the cover looks amazing!

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  20. Good that you are craving more from this world, the author has done a fantastic job of pulling you in!

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  21. i haven't even know about this series and this is already book 3? heaps to catch up on, cool recommendation

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    1. I didn't know about it either but I do want to read the other 2 I missed.

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  22. I love the cover of this book. I'm glad to hear you weren't lost by jumping in on a series. I'll have to check out the first book.
    Kristin @ Book Sniffers Anonymous

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  23. Loving the cover. Wonderfully mysterious, I like the way the face is partly obscured.

    I too am guilty of not always reading a series in order. Still, it sounds like the author did a grand job of holding your attention despite your not having read the previous instalments and the fact that you were presented with lots of toing and froing between various time lines.

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    1. I agree! I love the cover too.

      It did work well which did surprise me.

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  24. I was really curious about this one!

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  25. Oooo. Now I want to know about the previous books so I can try the whole series. This sounds so good! :D Thank you!

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  26. I like the cover of this one! I haven't heard of this series before. It's interesting that you were able to enjoy this one despite not having read the previous books.

    Thanks for sharing,
    ~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles

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  27. Sounds like you will definitely want to read her other books.

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  28. Even with the bad parts I love the sound of this book. Great cover too.

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