"A Cerulean Queen" is a satisfying conclusion to the epic fantasy series, "The Nine Realms," by Sarah Kozloff. The book picks up where the previous installment left off, with the various characters facing the ultimate battle for the fate of their kingdoms. As with the previous books in the series, Kozloff's writing style is engaging, and the pacing is well-balanced, with action and character development interspersed throughout the story.

One of the strengths of this novel, and the series as a whole, is the way Kozloff develops her characters. Each of the characters, even the villains, is given depth and complexity, and the relationships between them are well-drawn. Readers will become invested in the fates of these characters and will find themselves rooting for them throughout the story.

Kozloff's world-building is also a notable highlight of the series, and "A Cerulean Queen" is no exception. The different cultures and societies are intricately woven together, and the political intrigue that plays out throughout the series is well-executed. The magic system is also well-developed and adds an extra layer of interest to the story.

Overall, "A Cerulean Queen" is a satisfying conclusion to "The Nine Realms" series. Kozloff's writing style, character development, and world-building are all strong, making for a compelling and enjoyable read. Fans of epic fantasy will find much to enjoy in this series, and I highly recommend it.

The Cerulean queens conclude a well-thought-out detailed story that encompasses the life of a fabulous family and queen that lost and fought hard to gain back her throne from a variety of enemies. The nine realms series was released very quickly, and some may think, oh excellent, the story will suffer due to the rush of publication. I did not see that throughout reading the books. I believe each book built very well on the story before and covered a significant amount of the history of the land and the life of Cruellia. The love and devotion of those who served and the creativity of her talent made for an engaging and well-thought-out story.

This took more of a risk with the choice of plot than prior three novels - not a lot of fantasies show the harsher consequences of civil war. Characterization never quite succeeded for me with these books but the world was passably interesting enough to finish. This series mostly feels like a run of almost-was and could-have-been-great. The easy choices the story made for the main character and simple way the plot unfolded at the end killed any real emotion for me. Too easy, too simple, not believable enough.

Reviewed it at Tor.com

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/22/the-return-of-the-queen-sarah-kozloffs-a-broken-queen-and-the-cerulean-queen/

The final book in the Nine Realms series, The Cerulean Queen continues the story of Princella Cerulia. The series follows Cerulia from her childhood in hiding, through battles both internal and external. She has matured through her assumed identities, from Wren, to Kestrel, to Skylark, to Phenix. Aided by both the guiding spirits of Ennea Mon and the friends she's gathered throughout her life, Cerulia reclaims her birthright and the throne. This series was enjoyable from start to finish -- filled with magic, friendship, suspense, and even a little romance.

In my review of The Broken Queen, the penultimate chapter of Sarah Kozloff’s NINE REALMS tetralogy, I said I was going to need a “slambang ending” to be able to recommend the series. Unfortunately, after finishing the series’ concluding novel, The Cerulean Queen, I can’t say I got the close I was hoping for.

The final novel picks up where the last one finished (warning, some possible spoilers for books 1-3 ahead), with Cerulia poised to try and take back her throne from the usurper Matwyck. It’s not spoiler to note she succeeds, given that it happens pretty quickly, and then the novel turns away from reclamation and more toward ruling. The new obstacles include the basic governance (picking a council, freeing the wrongfully imprisoned, etc.), dealing with the remaining resistance, which is still dangerous, navigating the tricky waters of potential alliances through marriage, and finally dealing with an outside invasion of Oros bent on revenge for the destruction of their capital. More personally, Cerulia also has to find out just who she really is, given she’s been forced to play multiple roles during her years in hiding, and she also has to decide who might be her life partner: Commander Thalen, if he’s even alive and if he would still have her (he is and he would), her bodyguard Cielo (clearly he’s up for the idea), or someone else who fulfills the foreign policy needs of her realm. Meanwhile, Thalen, Percia, and others have to settle into their new lives and roles.

I’ve said all along that the story felt like it was lacking that special something that richly rewards the reader, and in my review of The Broken Queen noted as well that the series was starting to feel its length — in the book particularly and overall. Thus, my hope that the final book would redeem it. Unfortunately, The Cerulean Queen I’m sad to say was the worst executed book of the four that make up the series. Logistics were often muddy, events were at times implausible, pacing was off, and the book never seemed to have a sense of balance between what was important and what was not.

The problems began at the very start, with Cerulia’s plan to take back her throne. Though I use the word “plan” loosely, since it had to be one of the most poorly through-out reclamation-of-a-throne ideas I’ve ever read. It just didn’t make any sense. I could have accepted the relatively young Cerulia coming up with it, but it made no sense to me that those who were older and wiser, not to mention had military background, didn’t raise questions. The scene itself was, as noted, muddy logistically, and the Cerulia was wounded and simply left, being tended to and then eating dinner while fighting was still going on and her throne (not to mention her life) hung in the balance. None of it made much sense to me and I grew more annoyed the more I read.

By the time (minor spoiler) Matwyck manages to escape and Cerulia thinks she should have expected he might still have supporters, I was already frustrated enough to write “ya think?” in my notes (not the last time I did so). After all, she wasn’t reclaiming a recently stolen crown; he’d been running the country for years, purging the disloyal, rewarding the loyal. Similarly, frustrating issues arose regularly throughout the novel. Cerulia’s talent of speaking to animals seemed to be used or not for the author’s plotting needs. There’s some sense that a more enlightened form of government might be aimed for, but then there’s an awful lot of bowing and obeisance and unexamined privilege. Events seem random and wholly disconnected from one another so that there’s little sense of unity or narrative threading. This holds true for individual scenes as well as entire narratives, such as the Oro invasion and retreat spanning all four books. Villains are easily dispatched. Scenes are given equal weight despite not having equal impact (for instance, a scene describing choosing a dress would have been fine had it, say, given a deeper sense of character, but I just wondered throughout its inordinate length why I was spending so much time in something that furthered neither character nor plot). I won’t belabor the point.

There’s a workmanlike ability here such that a stripped down version of this story, say two books more tightly focused on Cerulia’s character, I think could have offered up something more compelling. The not-so-great queen who opens the story by failing, the daughter who hardscrabbles her way through the life of the average non-royal, grows as a person and also in her power, makes her way back to the throne, then tries to redeem her family’s role by applying what she had learned outside of the palace to better rule. There are hints of that here (though that story would have been better served by a more complicated usurper). But that potential gets bogged down and diluted by frankly far less interesting and original ancillary plots and a “and-then, and-then, and-then” kind of episodic structure. And then it falls apart at the end in terms of execution. Given that conclusion, I can’t recommend beginning the series.

Rating: 9/10

In The Cerulean Queen, the exciting fourth and final book in the Nine Realms series, author Sarah Kozloff details the fate of Cerulia, Weirandale, and the Free States. Last we saw, Cerulia was back in Weirandale under the guise of Wren – her adopted childhood name. Her foster sister was marrying Lord Matwyck’s son, the same Lord Matwyck who seized control of Weirandale after Cerulia’s mother fled. Thalen’s Raiders have just finished a battle with the Oromandos, who are resetting their army and making strategic decisions. There is so much to look forward to in the finale, as all of the storylines crash together in one decisive volume.

As reader, you can look forward to more of the same from Kozloff in this book. The author’s biggest strength is writing descriptive scenes, and there is no lack of description, here. This is what originally made me fall in love with the series. My review of the first book called it “immersive”, and that has never changed. Through each volume of the series, I have allowed myself to dive deeper and deeper into this world Kozloff created by letting those descriptions wrap themselves around me and take over my imagination – so much so that I did not much want to leave. The Cerulean Queen only cements that feeling even more; in fact, there are many times in this book where I thought the descriptions may have been overkill. Certain scenes dragged a little, and I found myself asking once or twice if we could move the plot along a little. But, I would rather have that than a book that skims over scenes, barely touching the surface as it gets to the end. Kozloff has written this book as a series of deep dives, leaving no detail untouched.

The same goes for the characters. They are so well-written throughout the whole series that it has become so easy to care about where they end up. We have watched Cerulia and Thalen grow up from timid youngsters to become confident leaders, and the same goes for players like Gunnit and Percia. And, while they are all really great, Cerulia steals the show. As the story is told through several perspectives, the reader spends more time with Princella than anyone else; which is no surprise, as this is her story. We get to hear every thought, capture every feeling, absorb every experience. The Cerulean Queen takes that to the extreme, as Cerulia takes the throne and now her decisions will decide the fate of her country and its people. This is a different side of the now-Queen: she is no longer in day-to-day survival mode. She has power, an army, retainers, and body guards all at her command. Every one of them willing to die for her on a whim. It is important that the reader see how she handles that power. Will she use her power to exact revenge on those who have wronged her, sacrificing the lives of her people in the process? Will she be a gracious queen or will regaining the throne boost her ego? Without giving too much away, I am happy to report that Cerulia does not disappoint.

I was really satisfied with the way the book ended. It took longer than I wanted to get there, but I did not necessarily mind hanging out with Cerulia for a while as the other storylines played out. When the climax hit, it hit hard – the story ends in a splash, proving Kozloff’s ability to write big scenes and tie a story up nicely.

The Cerulean Queen is a nearly perfect ending to what has been a fantastic series. I recommend this book (and the whole series) highly to any and all fantasy readers. I am sad the adventure had to end, but Sarah Kozloff has made a fan out of me. I am excited to read what she writes next.

This was a good ending for the series. I really enjoyed the book and I will miss this entire world.
😊

This novel is one of the best I’ve read this year! The characters are so dynamic yet relatable. I loved the flow of the story. It held my attention the whole time.

I guess this series isn't for me because I just couldn't get into it at all.
Maybe it is because I have been in a weird reading mood. I will try again later on.

Well, we're finally here. "Finally" being the debatable word. Yes, it's been a full four months of reading to get to this point, but also no, because we're getting the last book in an epic fantasy series within, again, only four months since the first book came out! I get that not many authors write in a way that would make this type of publication style an option, but I do love me some binging in pretty much any media format! This final book successfully ties up a lot of loose strings while also going into details that I hadn't expected. Overall, it's a satisfying conclusion to this series.

After years and years, Cerulia has finally returned home and reclaimed the throne that was hers. But what should be a celebration soon turns into one conflict after another. Fighting her own doubts about the role of monarchy in her country, Cerulia must also contend with a council whose loyalties remain unclear, a war, and the general upheaval of a country that has quickly experienced big changes. With the future before her, now is the time for Cerulia to step up and establish what type of ruler she wants to be.

Overall, I was satisfied with this conclusion to the story. At this point, after three fairly long books, I'm pretty invested in Cerulia's story. I've also highlighted that the villains have often been complex and well-realized and that carries over here in the end. Between Cerulia herself and these interesting antagonists, I remained interested in the story even when it took a few turns I wasn't expect. For example, Cerulia gets her throne back very fast. Like, super fast. The majority of this story is then spent with her figuring out how to rule, weeding out the traitors from around her, and dealing with the tremulous state of a realm that isn't quite sure how it feels about aristocrats anymore. To be fair, the book description itself hints at these points being a big part of the story, but for some reason my brain was still expecting more on the front end of things with her actual struggle to regain the throne. I'm not saying it went a bad route with how this was dealt with, just an unexpected one.

For the most part, I did very much enjoy the turn towards the ins and outs of what ruling would really be like for a newly established queen who's living in a court full of people who may or may not have supported the previous ruler. I enjoy political fantasy often, so I found this aspect of the story to be interesting, especially when paralleled with the general state of uncertainty that the entire kingdom now faces with regards to its monarchy. Cerulia's challenges operate on the micro and macro levels. The author also wisely paces the story between action scenes and emotional moments to ensure that the story never lags.

There were times, perhaps, when it became a bit predictable with Cerulia's decisions always turning into the correct ones. But I'm not sure what else could really be done at this point; it is a last book in a series, and a series that has devoted quite a lot of time to the development of Cerulia's decision-making. She should be doing well by this point and, while a long wrap up, a wrap up this book is. We don't want added mysteries and conflicts at this point.

I did have a few quibbles with the end of the book, as, strangely, it was here that I felt the pacing did seem to stutter a bit. For a series that had such a strong opening chapter, I wanted a bit more from the final pages of this book. But, in the end, I was very satisfied with this conclusion to the series! And don't forget to check out our giveaway for this book!

Rating 7: A satisfying end to a wild ride over the last four months!

(Link will go live April 17)