★★★★ @AuthorABouchet #HighlyAnticipated #ACurseofQueens #NetGalley
Magical with an exhilarating adventure, A Curse of Queens is everything I hoped it to be. Ms. Bouchet crafts a masterful piece filled with backstabbing gods, civil unrest, and intrigue. Lately, I have been following and reading authors who write fantasy with complex plots and highly developed world-building. I love it. Ms. Bouchet is an automatic read for me. Her stories suck me into a fantasy world rich with culture, people, and strife. The strife is what makes it interesting.
Whilst the focal point of this book is about the Queen's curse, the main character is Jocasta. Jocasta's been the quiet sister-in-law to the Queen, Cat. Jocasta nostalgically thinks of days when she didn't live in a castle. Instead, she had a nice little home with her family. She would be the village healer through herbs and potions. The upscaling of her life, has made her a little irrelevant and displaced. Her life goals are now asunder and she tries to fit herself into a world that she no longer recognizes.
I love character progression stories and this is all about Jocasta coming into her own. She learns what she can do and she proves it to all her doubters. One of her chief doubters is Flynn, her childhood crush. Jocasta's dissatisfaction with her life skews how she perceives others. Her journey to find herself, expand her magic, and rekindle a lost love is fraught with peril, trickery, and ancient lore.
The way Ms. Bouchet ties Greek mythology to this series is impressive. I loved how the origin is revealed. I also love how Circe's story is reinterpreted and incorporated into this book. The layering of this story creates a rich experience that pulls me straight into the book. I feel like I have stepped through a portal into this world. I am following along, like a fly on the wall as our heroes complete their quest. It is marvelous. I recommend this book to fantasy readers who enjoy epic quests.
*provided by NetGalley
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