The Reluctant Queen: The Queens of Renthia, Book 2

But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: She is dying. But when Ven, the queen's champion, passes through the village, Naelin's ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife's ability to control spirits - magic that Naelin fervently denies. Sarah Beth Durst established a place of dark wonder in The Queen of Blood, and now the stakes are even higher as the threat to the queen and her people grows both from within and beyond the borders of Aratay in this riveting second novel of the Queens of Renthia series.. Only as the queen's power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened - even as ominous

Sequel to The Queen of Blood D. G. Hulan This is the second book in the “Queens of Renthia” trilogy that began with The Queen of Blood last year. At the end of that one Daleina, the only surviving candidate for the crown after a massacre of candidates by the spirits infesting the kingdom of Aratay, is on the throne, but she was never very powerful, so there are factions in Aratay who aren’t really pleased with her ascension. And as this book begins she has begun having “blackouts,” in which she loses control of the spirits until the blackout has passed. It resembles in most ways a disease called the False Death, that is always fatal within a matter . "A wonderful sequel to The Queen of Blood" according to aannbrr. The Reluctant Queen continues the story of Daleina, now queen of Aratay. Although she is only about 20, she is discovered to have the False Death; with only A wonderful sequel to The Queen of Blood The Reluctant Queen continues the story of Daleina, now queen of Aratay. Although she is only about 20, she is discovered to have the False Death; with only 3 months to live, a successor is mandatory. Unfortunately, all of the students at the magic academies are too young/immature/untrained to be suitable candidates. With Champions scouring the towns and villages for possible Heirs, Ven discovers Naelin, a mother of two young children, who can command the nature spirits. Although she is VERY reluctant, she and her children go to the capital city to train. Durst is a masterful storyteller and portrays Naelin's indecision realistically, as . months to live, a successor is mandatory. Unfortunately, all of the students at the magic academies are too young/immature/untrained to be suitable candidates. With Champions scouring the towns and villages for possible Heirs, Ven discovers Naelin, a mother of two young children, who can command the nature spirits. Although she is VERY reluctant, she and her children go to the capital city to train. Durst is a masterful storyteller and portrays Naelin's indecision realistically, as . "evocative worldbuilding of the first while introducing a great new character" according to Sarah. The second book in The Queens of Renthia series has all of the lush, evocative worldbuilding of the first while introducing a great new character.As a longtime fan of epic fantasy, it is refreshing to see an epic fantasy series that centers women's experiences and shows a full range of female characters. The revelation at the end has me aching for the next book in this series.