You’ve been warned many times, you cannot trust the kings . . . The old queen is dead, a new queen is in play, and the realm has descended into darkness. For the first time in history, a queen has rejected the game. Eliza will start her reign with no alliances while Althea must fight to save her tenuous bond with the king who cannot love. Her relationship threatens to break, but Althea’s attention becomes divided after receiving a few harrowing clues connecting her past and the game at hand.

Before she can find answers, a mysterious fae appears promising the power of the seventh king to whoever can solve a series of riddles, leaving the fae realm in shambles as they race to come out on top. Althea has one year left. New alliances are forged. Old stories come to life. She must make her move, or the fate of the queens will consume her.

My thoughts: This series is so good! I went into it thinking that I didn't really care for books about the Fae and their realm, but this series won me over! I loved the twists and the turns of the series.
Althea had big plans to escape the fae realm and never look back when they go to get the next queen. But, that was before Eliza was chosen to be the next queen, a friend who has been dear to her family. Even though Althea has burned many of the allegiances she has made over the past year, she returns with the hope that she and Eliza can unravel the mystery of the mortal queens. I loved getting to know the characters and how nothing is as it seems. The author did a wonderful job of surprising me on multiple plot twists. This is a wonderful series to pick up and enjoy! It simply must be read in order.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Victoria McCombs is the author of The Storyteller Series, The Royal Rose Chronicles, and The Fae Dynasty duology, with hopefully many more to come. She survives on hazelnut coffee, 20-minute naps, and a healthy fear of her deadlines, all while raising four wildlings with her husband in Omaha, Nebraska.

More from Victoria

This book came differently to me than my other ones.

It was less plot and structure, and more—what kind of book do I want to write?

I wanted riddles for them to solve, which created the Gamemaster character. I wanted a healthy family aspect, which began the process of repairing the relationships I’d burned in book one. And I wanted a character who knew exactly what she wanted and never waivered from that. Other scenes came from these wishes, like the chess game where the players are the chess pieces, and the War of Hearts played in the labyrinth.

Together, I think it blended nicely, and I can’t wait for readers to get ahold of it!