Long May She Reign

Long May She Reign has a lot of potential to be brilliant and puzzling. This is a tale about a girl who becomes Queen when just the day before, she was 23rd in line. So while she struggles with the responsibilities of being Queen, Freya also works on trying to find out who the murderer is and why they did what they did. Their intention could never have possibly been to put her on the throne, so who else could have done it? While Freya learns more about her people and her land, she also learns more about those she comes to call friends. She finds herself trusting them even though she knows she shouldn't, and that makes for a very interesting turn of events. All in all, Long May She Reign is about loyalty, fairness, and kindness when greed tries to overwhelm everyone.

Freya is a scientist, always experimenting in her makeshift lab to try and create things that could potentially help people as well as get her away from her home town. When she becomes Queen however, all that changes. It isn't acceptable for a Queen to be experimenting with poisons and metals and fire. Freya has to pretend science isn't her passion, until another attempt for the throne is made, and Freya decides to try one more experiment. She is a strong and brave Queen once she opens her eyes to the problems her advisers attend to. She is also honest. She makes a good Queen, though she does make mistakes.

The premise intrigued me from the beginning, and I wanted to read this book merely to find out they mystery: who killed all those people and why? We don't find out until the end, though there are some good hints along the way. The author is skilled in a way that when she writes, she can turn your doubt and suspicion onto someone completely innocent. The character that is actually the most suspicious ends up being one of our favorites, or a t least fairly likable. By the end of the book you will be thinking 'I knew it!', but then you will recall you doubt and accusations of other characters. This made reading more enjoyable for me, though there wasn't that much mystery to be honest. It was more so politics and romance.

Romance wise, there is not much. We see characters getting closer and creating a bond, and they get teased at times for liking each other, but again nothing really develops there until the end.

Overall, Long May She Reign tells a tale of a young girl's journey to royalty, and how she struggles not to become someone else.

It's not every day that one comes across a standalone YA Fantasy novel, let alone one that does not focus entirely on romance! It was a nice change to read a book that focuses on a young girl whose life is turned upside down as she suddenly finds herself on the throne and has to endure the scrutiny of an entire kingdom, questioning her right to rule, without the woes of a romance to take her mind from her new-found struggles.

What I liked:

Our main character, Freya, goes from being a minor noble (twenty third in line to the throne) with dreams of leaving to study science, to being a queen after the entire court is poisoned, including the King of Epria. Freya is awkward and unfit in the beginning, easily manipulated and criticized by her peers, but she grows into her role and starts to act as someone meant to rule to the point of fighting and doing anything to protect her kingdom.

Long May She Reign had me intrigued about the mystery of what, how, and who had poisoned the entire court. It led me to not trust a single character, except for Freya whose innocence was the only one I was sure of, and I was always wary of every character who surrounded Freya in her new court. Everyone somehow had a reason to have killed the old court and that's what made the plot all the more interesting.

However, the ending to this book was my favorite part. Can't say much in fear of spoiling, but I will say that it left me smiling and quite pleased with how things wrap up ... or not. The beauty of this book truly shines in the last few pages, for you see how far Freya has come from the girl she used to be.

What Didn't Do It For Me:

While I do love that this book is a standalone, I was actually expecting it to be more action-packed. It's a bit on the slow side, sometimes uneventful, which made take a while to finish it! Mostly the first half.

Another thing that didn't do it for me was how the characters, except for Freya, weren't at all concerned about consuming food at court after the food poisoning attempts. You'd think they'd be more wary! However, they leave it up to Freya to investigate and they keep eating without worry. And even after Freya comes with an answer to make sure food is not poisoned, they don't seem to apply it. Wish they did!

Lastly, I also wish to have explored more of Epria in this book. Most of the story took place in Freya's old castle, especially her laboratory, which wasn't particularly exciting.

Final Verdict:

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas is an intriguing read if you don't mind going at a slow pace. It is rewarded by a good main character who learns to grow past her prejudices to become someone fit to be queen.