The Queens and the Kings

The Isles, Book 2

De: Katie Cross

Narrado por: Katie Cross

A dragul keeper unraveling ancient mysteries. A soldat driven by his past. A world on the brink of chaos.

Britt Helsing is determined to wade through arcane and mayhem to keep her word and find Henrik’s long-lost mother, Selma, on the distant mainland. Henrik is just as resolved to find Selma while keeping Britt, and the Isles, safe. Their shared journey becomes far more dangerous—and personal—than either of them expected.

Accompanied by pirate Burning Beard on his arcane-infused ship, Britt and Henrik sail to the mainland where rebellion stirs, wyverns awaken, and an enigmatic leader promises aid in exchange for their help.

As Britt spies on wyverns, she discovers a chilling truth: ancient beings are regaining their arcane power. Meanwhile, Henrik avoids his growing feelings for Britt to plan an invasion of his old home. Unlikely allies help him out.

With secrets to unwind, curses to break, and alliances to forge, they must navigate dangerous waters that could set their lives, and their hearts, adrift. The price of peace may cost them more than they’re willing to pay.

In a world where love and loyalty are tested by war and arcane, will Britt and Henrik find the strength to face the storms ahead together—or be swept away by them?

©2025 Katie Cross (P)2025 Audible Inc.

On the Fence

Some spoilers-
Likes: The story is interesting. The book was easy to understand and well written. I liked how Peder was a new point of view, and it added a lot to the story. I can see this transitioning into the next book really well. The reading performance was 100% better this time.
Dislikes: This book is well written, however there were some things as a reader I wanted to experience differently: 1. I appreciated throughout the first book and most of this one the character building. I liked how the author put thoughts and intentions of characters out there. However, like the end of the last book, it seemed lacking in intent and motive. For example, Henrik and Britt both had reservations on fully committing to a relationship with one another throughout this book. The chapter where Henrik decides to commit to Britt before he leaves was through Britt's point of view. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to know what was going through Henrik's mind to make the transition feel more complete. There was another instance where they kissed and were happy to see one another, and it was also through Britt's point of view. The experience in that way seemed very lacking. It does not round out their story very well.
Also, due to most of both books being world and character building with emotion attached, some chapters felt inconsistent. They had a lot of repetitive wording and situations lasting too long. One example would be the chapter with Britt freeing the Wyverns. It seemed like an outlier, like someone else wrote that chapter. There was a lot of repetitive instances, and it was hard to get through. It wasn't written in common with the rest of the book. Another example was how many times the author penned "Wyvern Kings" and "Siren Queens". It was a lot.
I really enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to hearing the next book.