Book: Queen Of Ruin by Tracy Banghart

Published Little, Brown Books For Young Readers|336 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Grace And Fury #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

A fierce sequel full of sisterhood, heart pounding action, betrayal, and intrigue in the royal court in a series that “breathes new life into the feminist story of oppression and resistance” (Publisher’s Weekly).

Banished by Asa at the end of Grace and Fury, Nomi and Malachi find themselves powerless and headed towards their all-but-certain deaths. Now that Asa sits on the throne, he will stop at nothing to make sure Malachi never sets foot in the palace again. Their only hope is to find Nomi’s sister, Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi and Malachi arrive, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite, submissive Serina–is its leader.
Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom, issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get rid of Asa, and only Nomi knows how.

Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build something better in its place.

The stakes are higher and the battles bolder in Tracy Banghart’s unputdownable sequel to Grace and Fury.

I liked Queen Of Ruin!  I just haven’t been in a mood to write lately, so I’ve already forgotten a lot of the book and what happened, but I did like it.

It was interesting to see Nomi and Serina try to change things.  Though they come together, they also end up separating and going their own way as they try to make their world a better place.  I really liked Serina and how much she changed throughout the series.  She really came into her own and organized a rebellion.  Nomi took charge of her own path but I felt like it was a lot more subtle than what we saw with her sister.

I did like their relationship, though.  They both fought for a better world, and they both strong in their own way.  And I liked that they were strong in different ways.  They, and all of the other women we see in the series, show that strength can come in many different packages, and that there is more than one way to be strong.  It’s nice to see, because I feel like we don’t get a lot of that in YA.  At least in the books I’ve read.

I was disappointed with the ending.  I really wanted to know what happened after the end of the book.  I don’t wish for epilogues often but I really would have liked an epilogue to at least get an idea of how things turned out.  I don’t need every last detail but I would have liked something telling us how things turned out.

3 stars.  I liked Queen Of Ruin but didn’t love it.