Review Detail

This was definitely one of my most highly anticipated books for 2016. I loved The Orphan Queen and was so excited to get my hands on The Mirror King that I may have screamed. Just a little. Or a lot. But after that cliffhanger ending of The Orphan Queen and the wait for the sequel, who could blame me? It was everything I wanted from a sequel and it was the perfect conclusion, even with all the tears through both books.

Wil had grown a lot in the first book but here, her growth really got to shine. She was more confident in herself even as she questioned her decisions. She had moments of doubt, of whether she was strong enough to lead a kingdom, if she was the right choice for her people, and I think all that just showed she was the only choice in the end. She cared so much about her kingdom and her people. Everything she went through was for them. She was willing to sacrifice so much for them. She earned every bit of her character growth and she earned a place as one of my favourite characters.

I absolutely loved the supporting characters. The Ospreys were such a tight family without sharing any blood. They grew up together, they planned together, they trained together, and they were taking back Aecor together. My favourites though were Tobiah and James and the bond they shared. Cousins as close as brothers and both so willing to protect each other even though James was the bodyguard and Tobiah the king. We got to see more of their bond, more of their past, and got more answers to some of the questions left from the first book.

The attraction between Wil and Tobiah was always in the background, just like the first book. I really enjoyed the slow burn of it and the fact that it was getting developed without overtaking the other aspects of the books that I loved. It never felt like the friendships or Wil’s struggles or Tobiah’s doubts were overshadowed for the sake of their romance.

There were so many twists in the whole series and I loved it all. There were times when I knew something was about to happen or something was a little off, but I never expected the book to break my heart so many times. There wasn’t much recapping done so re-reading The Orphan Queen, or at least refreshing on it, before picking up this one might be a good idea.