The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

The Orphan Queen #2

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: April 5th, 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: Giveaway

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 531

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right. 

HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.

I can't believe that I waited so long to finish this series. I can't think of very many sequels that I liked better than the first book, but I don't know, this might be one of them.

This book takes place immediately after the ending of The Orphan Queen and follows Wil's journey as she ascends the vermillion throne. She has to deal with the people of the Indigo Kingdom now knowing that she is the lost princess of Aecor. She has to do whatever she can to save Tobiah after Patrick shot him at the end of book one. She also has to deal with Patrick raising an army under her name to do things that she never wanted done to take back Aecor. And on top of all that, she has to deal with her wraith boy's shenanigans.

I still liked Wil a lot in this book, possibly even more than in the first one. She has a lot of tough decisions to make in this book and she has to deal with Patrick's crap. And I feel like she handles it all so well. And she always tries to do things right by everyone, not just the people of Aecor or her Ospreys. I loved that about her.

One thing that did bug me a bit regarding Wil was the fact that she got away with a lot of stuff in this book that I felt like she shouldn't have. I mean, she's the lost princess of an overtaken kingdom that impersonated a Liadian refugee duchess to infiltrate the palace in Skyvale who has a wraith boy sidekick that continually causes trouble. I mean, some of the things really aren't her fault, but I feel like there should be some consequences for her!

Also, like, I think it's mentioned that she's basically a prisoner in the Skyvale palace in this book, but it never feels serious? The guards are kind of incompetent or they just don't care that much. She's always sneaking in and out of the castle and in and out of the king's chambers and she never really gets busted?!

I really liked Tobiah as well. I think he's a wonderful ruler and he always tries to do what's right even if it's not what's best for him. And his list at the end of the book...

It made my heart happy.

I think that the wraith boy was done dirty. Like he's an interesting character. And he is completely and totally devoted to Wil. I get that people were terrified of him, Wil included, but I feel like he could have been treated better. He's continually locked in broom closets and wardrobes and what not and then forgotten about until he emerges to cause trouble. Which, I don't think would have happened if anyone had bothered to just pay attention to him. He followed every order Wil gave him. He was like a puppy! He would have been more well behaved if he had been given more attention. And he could provide them with some information about the wraith that they didn't have before! UGH!

And then the last character I wanted to mention was Patrick for the sole reason that I hate him because he was one of those characters that ALWAYS has a scheme going on and his schemes never seemed to go wrong. I just don't find it believable when a character's schemes not once ever go wrong. It drives me mad.

Overall, I thought that The Mirror King was an EXCELLENT sequel. I didn't feel like it suffered from the dreaded second book syndrome. I thought it was action packed. It kept my interest for the whole thing, I was so eager to know what was going to happen next. I loved the characters, even if there were little things that bugged me. I though the romance was cute. There were a few plot twists that were super interesting and the ending is kind of heart wrenching. But also hopeful. And I am sad that it was only a duology. I need to read the novellas still, so I'm glad that I can still delve back into this world a little bit!

I loved this series so much, I already want to reread it.

Have you read this series yet? What did you think of it?

Waiting on Wednesday (#16)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting for...

The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

The Orphan Queen #2

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: April 5, 2016

Pages: 544

Add it on Goodreads!!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right. 
HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.
HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.
In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen. 

I just finished reading The Orphan Queen and I am DYING to get my hands on this book! April is too far away!

Review: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

The Orphan Queen #1

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: March 10, 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Purchase

Pages: 391

Add it on Goodreads!!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Wilhelmina Korte is the rightful queen of Aecor, a kingdom conquered by the Indigo Kingdom when she was just a child. She is a member of a group of orphaned rebels called the Ospreys. Their mission is to reclaim Aecor and put Wil back on the vermillion throne. In their work, they often have to steal or commit other crimes to survive. Therefore, they have to avoid Black Knife, a masked vigilante who spends his nights capturing criminals and killing wraith beasts that make their way into the city of Skyvale. The last leg of their mission before returning to Aecor requires them to enter the castle so Wil and her best friend Melanie enter the castle, posing as survivors from the kingdom of Liadia which recently fell to the wraith. 

I think that when the Ospreys finally succeed in their mission to take back Aecor, Wil will be a WONDERFUL queen! I think that she is awesome! She takes a lot of risks for her people and her kingdom, such as entering Liadia in the wraithland to learn more about the wraith and rumors of a lake the wraith does not touch. She knows that if the wraith is not dealt with, there won't be an Aecor to reclaim for very long. Saving her kingdom and the people remaining in it under Indigo rule is her main priority, her free time is spent gallivanting through Skyvale at night with Black Knife, killing wraith beasts. I love Wil. She is brave and selfless and strong and wonderful!

I liked Black Knife, he catches Wil committing a crime and instead of handing her over to the police, he gives her a second chance because he believes that she has good intentions. He's mysterious and seems like a very good person.

There are lots of other wonderful characters in this book! Melanie is Wil's best friend who poses as a Liadian survivor with Wil to get into the castle and she helps snoop around for the information that they seek. She kind of acts untrustworthy for awhile in this book and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about her. Patrick is basically the leader of Ospreys. He saved Wil and the rest of them from an Indigo orphanage. He will do whatever it takes to reclaim Aecor, no matter the cost. The prince of the Indigo Kingdom seems to be a main character and he just doesn't seem impressed by anything. He doesn't seem like any fun, but he seems like he's not such a bad guy. There really isn't a character in this book that I found myself really disliking. There was one I disliked at the end, but even the awful king of the Indigo Kingdom grew on me. He's made to be so human, it's hard to not like him!

There is a romance in this book and I really liked it! There's not a triangle, it's FAR from instant. It's cute and I look forward to seeing how it plays out in The Mirror King!

The story never felt slow to me, even when the girls were in the castle doing all of their spy business. I was really interested in everything going on in this book and that dang cliffhanger has me DYING for The Mirror King!!!

I read this book in the car on a long road trip to Indiana to visit my mom so I honestly don't think that I got as much out of it as I could have, but writing this review, I feel like the reading experience went a lot better than I felt it did. I had to stop a lot and it was hard to concentrate with the conversation going on around me and the radio going, but this review was easier than I felt it would be. The ONLY complaint I have about this reading experience is that it took away from the shock of the cliffhanger. It didn't leave me feeling like I needed to join the support group I have heard things about for this book, but again, I think it was just the stuff going on around me that took away from that.

Overall, I loved this book! I would HIGHLY recommend this book if you like fantasy! It is fantastic! I will definitely be reading this book again before The Mirror King comes out so I can get the full experience of reading it and really FEELING that ending! WONDERFUL book!

This book takes the bingo square for a new to me author!!