The War Queen

FANTASY:  Altarn is the first woman to be the State Head in Blindvar. When Lord Kaelin, State Head of Ruidenthall, proposes  a merger between their states, Altarn believes he wants to take her state away and become king of both kingdoms. She rides in disguise to Luthsinia, her last ally, to ask for help. On her way there she’s ambushed and rescued by a man named Torren, who offers her his protection. When she arrives at her destination, she discovers an enemy army has already invaded her state… But it’s not Kaelin’s army, and the plot thickens. Whose army is it? Who can Altarn trust? 

The storytelling in this book is downright amazing! The reader immediately gets sucked into the world of the war queen Altarn, and the mythology and history of this strange, imaginative world.  Betrayal comes at every turn, friends become enemies and all are playing a dangerous game with potentially disastrous results. 

Altarn is a strong-willed, capable warrior, but at times (particularly at the start of the book) she’s also immature and too stubborn for her own good. She does grow and mature throughout the book, but these traits didn’t make her as likeable as she could be, and didn’t really fit the persona of a battle-hardened warrior. In all other respects "The War Queen" is epic fantasy at its finest, with well-rounded, three-dimensional characters and excellent world building! 

Majanka Verstraete