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My Review:Title: The Queen and the Cure
Author: Amy Harmon
Series: The Bird and the Sword Chronicles #2
Published by: Indie
Release Date: May 1, 2017
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 342
Genres: Romance, Fantasy
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 AtoZ Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's Science Fiction vs Fantasy Bingo 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ IndieBound
My rating:
Blurb:There will be a battle, and you will need to protect your heart.
Kjell of Jeru had always known who he was. He'd never envied his brother or wanted to be king. He was the bastard son of the late King Zoltev and a servant girl, and the ignominy of his birth had never bothered him.
But there is more to a man than his parentage. More to a man than his blade, his size, or his skills, and all that Kjell once knew has shifted and changed. He is no longer simply Kjell of Jeru, a warrior defending the crown. Now he is a healer, one of the Gifted, and a man completely at odds with his power.
Called upon to rid the country of the last vestiges of the Volgar, Kjell stumbles upon a woman who has troubling glimpses of the future and no memory of the past. Armed with his unwanted gift and haunted by regret, Kjell becomes a reluctant savior, beset by old enemies and new expectations. With the woman by his side, Kjell embarks upon a journey where the greatest test may be finding the man she believes him to be.
4.5 stars — I’m honestly still processing. I was so worried about this book, b/c Kjell was really hard to like in The Bird and the Sword…which is not to say I didn’t like him, but I almost liked him reluctantly if that makes sense. I knew this story was going to be a hard one, b/c Kjell had so much growing to do, and accepting the changes around him and the truth about himself. And he was still the gruff, grumpy, quick to anger guy that we knew. But of course Ms. Harmon managed to get him to dig inside my heart and make a place for himself there. I don’t even really know how…but despite his stubbornness and his rudeness, you could totally feel his vulnerability and just how LOST he was. Lost and damaged by his upbringing, and the betrayal of people he cared about. I found his story to be compelling, beautiful, and emotional. So despite Kjell not being the kind of hero I tend to gravitate towards, I still fell for him…even as I wanted to smack him.
This story is told almost entirely from Kjell’s POV, which is interesting in and of itself. What’s more interesting, is that while there was a part of me that wanted to see inside Sasha’s mind, it wasn’t as strong as I was expecting. Something about the way the story laid out from Kjell’s perspective was apparently enough to satisfy me. That rarely happens people. I am a hardcore dual POV lover. But I felt like the story we got was complete and left me satisfied. And I felt like I got to know Sasha and her motivations just from the way she interacted with Kjell and all the secondary characters. She was earnest, thoughtful, loyal, smart, and could be strong and stubborn when she needed to be, which made her a perfect match for Kjell. She was also amazingly compassionate, and I fell for that trait most of all. I loved the way she forced her way into the group, and didn’t allow anyone to stop her from doing what she thought was right. My heart broke for the experiences she had in the past, and how she had learned to cope with her gift and how people reacted to it.
I loved that Kjell and Sasha just fit so well together. Their strengths complemented one another, and made them so strong as a couple. She tempered Kjell and showed him love and patience, and in return he cherished her and showed her the compassion that she so freely gave others. His steadfast love for her truly made me swoon, even as my heart ached.
I was sucked into the story right from the start, and I loved that the plot completely threw me at parts. I was wondering what was going to happen, and then Ms. Harmon would throw a wrench into the situation. I was so excited to return to this magical world, and I loved learning different things about it. I loved all the little side plots, and even hearing Sasha’s storytelling.
I ADORED so many of the side characters. The King’s Guard, particularly Jerick and Isak, just made my heart happy. I loved the way Jerick interacted with Kjell, he needed that kind of friendship. I also loved seeing characters from the previous book, particularly seeing Tiras and Kjell together.
Yup. Definitely a success. Made me giggle, definitely made me cry and made my heart hurt. And truly made me wish for more stories in this universe.
Lovely review! Glad your fears were put to rest, and you enjoyed the book 😄
Thank you!! Me too!