The Queen's Secret

By: Melissa de la Cruz

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Will Damron, Hillary Huber, Marc Thompson

From #1 bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz comes the heart-pounding follow-up to The Queen's Assassin, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black.

Lilac's birthright makes her the Queen of Renovia, and a forced marriage made her the Queen of Montrice. But being a ruler does not mean making the rules. For Lilac, taking the throne means giving up the opportunity to be with love of her life, the kingdom's assassin, Caledon Holt.

Worse, Cal is forced to leave the castle when a horrific set of magical attacks threatens Lilac's sovereignty. Now Cal and Lilac will have to battle dark forces separately, even though being together is the only thing that's ever saved them.

In the riveting conclusion to Melissa De La Cruz's fantasy duet, love and magic are at war, and victory rests on a knife's edge.

I mean.

I can’t be mad. But I do wish this series was longer. I’ve always loved Melissa’s writing and I got to trust that this is what was right for her and the series. It’s worth the read! I love Cal & Lilac. Just wish it wasn’t so rushed.

I love this story!!

Excellent performance all around! I hope that this series continues!!! I want to know what happens next!

Review

Struggled to finish. Story was slow and the events happening seemed far-fetched. Enjoyed the first book much better. Shadow in this book didn't align with her character in the first book (independent, self-sufficient, clever) she's preoccupied being lovesick and wallowing. That being said, the imagery of the ending being 'in the shadows' was nicely done.

Could’ve been better. Kinda disappointed. Slight spoiler

The first book was exciting all through. Lots of action, interesting storyline. The sequel- not so much. All Lilac does is complain and the narrator’s voice doesn’t make it any easier to listen to. At some point I figured she would never do her duty like the whining coward she seems to be and I was right. Everyone has a duty, and it’s not like the king was some fat creepy pervert. It annoyed me. In addition, the climax was really underwhelming. I expected it to be really action packed, intricate and complex and that there’d be sweat and blood. But all it took was a little spell and a flaming arrow? Wasn’t a bad read overall, just could’ve been way better. Too simple a storyline for me.

How it made me feel like I was there.

Nothing at all. It was a great listen. Thank you for your time to produce it.