The Demon King and The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms, #1 and #2) by Cinda Williams Chima
- Martina Berrutti
- Mar 16, 2019
- 3 min read
5 stars
I’m not gonna lie, I usually get through books exclusively by clinging desperately to the underlying romance, even if it’s just all very implied throughout and only becomes explicit at the very end. As a rule, if I ever read a book in one sitting and a love story is not what gets me through it, then I give it 5 stars.
So this one I’d give an infinite amount of stars, because I found the story and the world-building absolutely awesome. A queendom, kingdoms, clans, wizards, a smart-mouthed teenager... that sounds like a recipe for success (and boy, it was).
This excellently written novel looks like just the start of a series I’m gonna have soo much fun with. The characters were amazing, and there were enough unfinished conversations to hint that there’s a lot of interesting turns coming (an inordinate amount, actually, that makes the book so much better and the anticipation so much bigger).
I’m starting the second one right now because.. wow. Just wow.
5 stars
There’s many things that make for a good book. For me it’s the little things. Those situations and thoughts about daily life nobody comments on, since they feel so obvious pointing them out seems useless. But when you’re literally reading someone’s thoughts, one would think it’d be a normal thing to expect. Not many authors linger on such details, but when they do (and do it seamlessly, as if it were pertinent to the tale to call attention to something so simple), the whole outlook readers have on the story shifts; it feels a thousand times more real.
This is one of the many aspects why The Exiled Queen stands out as an excellent book among so many other ‘okay’ books of the genre. Even if not much happened at the beginning, and I got kinda frustrated because Han and Raisa’s reunion couldn’t arrive soon enough, this book just kept me at the edge of my seat. Not one single line felt out of place. It had just the right amount of everything.
I was incredibly surprised by the humor component in this one. It was simply a lot funnier than the first. From Raisa’s sarcastic thoughts to Han’s quirky taunting backtalk, it was all very witty and amusing.
The tension between them only added to this feeling; it was perfectly build up to make me love every single moment in which they interacted. The fact that the authors mirrors the way they constantly notice the other one (“He/She noticed everything”) was really endearing.
Not only between them, but every interaction (and the characters themselves) felt realistic. Characters were, all in all, very satisfactory. They weren’t made out to be perfect heroes capable of everything, but honest, flawed people that are susceptible to falling back into their old ways (just as we all are). There are still some holes in character development, but I’ve got a feeling that it will all come to light in the next books.
Student life was portrayed soo very accurately. Everything from essay writing to boring necessary reading felt right on the spot and something that I, as a student, can very closely relate to.
The world-building is outstanding. I absolutely love the whole queendom thing, and how shocked the northerners were upon coming into contact with the chauvinistic southern opinions (and how they defy it— especially Raisa’s quest to be recognized as a capable woman instead of being shut down by ignorant men).
And, again: the writing. Even if the story was incredibly boring I would have given it 5 very well-deserved stars for the writing alone. It wasn’t beautiful prose or very intricately weaved sentences, but simple lines that, carefully chosen, painted a fascinating picture.
“Memories slid through his mind like scenes from an unfinished play...”
“There were fifteen students in all, arranged like candies in a box, all in the same red wrappers.”
All in all, it was amazing. I’m soo reading the next one.
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