A+ | Thrilling, intricate, phenomenal. I genuinely don’t think I will ever be able to describe how much I adore The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso. Every single detail is ornate and elaborate. This book is a grand cathedral wherein every single element — from the stone to the artwork to the chandeliers to the pews — were carefully selected and lovingly crafted to bring this world and these characters to life. Like its predecessor, this adult fantasy succeeds in being so full of life and being so unapologetically Filipino by reflecting those good and bad aspects of Filipino society.

Warning: I am assuming that you have read The Wolf of Oren-Yaro before reading this review. Please click below at your own discretion.

— REVIEW:
Let’s get this out of the way right now. I love The Ikessar Falcon more than the first one. There, I said it. Quite an accomplishment, right? Middle book syndrome is nowhere to be found here. I’m still reeling over this book. It took me several days to complete it (despite the fact I was only reading this book) because I savored every moment. Also, because I was annotating this time around. My ARC is covered in sticky flags and underlying (in pencil).

The Plot was on point.
The first book didn’t allow us to breathe. But this book? Villoso would give you hope, let you breathe, and then manage to make you scream. I can’t tell you the number of times my heart stopped and jumped. No lie? I wrote expletives multiple times throughout my ARC copy. I couldn’t help it! Hell, there were some nights I ended up drinking a glass of wine while I was reading. Other nights, I had to force myself to do other things or sleep early because all I wanted to do was read.

It is that good.

There were those moments when I felt like things were moving a little too slowly.

The Worldbuilding shines bright once again.
It is vivid and alive. Once more, the worldbuilding is natural and seamless. It is easy to picture as every aspect of the world: from the environment to the food. How? Everything is provided for you on a silver platter. Do you know how many times I ended up hungry after a reading session?

Too many damn times!

I adored that Villoso once again explores real-world issues in this novel. She continues with that trend of showing us the inequalities between gender, social status, and ethnicity. There is an attempt to discuss (critique) social classes and how the current system only benefits some — not all. She also dives in-depth to show us how Jin-Sayeng’s government and social ladder functions.

And you know what?

Jin-Sayeng’s government parallels the Philippine government.
Now, I am Filipino, but I grew up here in the US, so my views are that of an outsider in this case. If you are a Filipino back home and there is a mistake here (or you disagree), please feel free to let me know.

Part of the reason I saw this parallel is because of the fact that clans quarrel with each other for power while ignoring their country’s numerous and glaring problems. Cosmetic fixes are done, which are nothing more than bandages on a festering wound. Reports that are meant to inform the nation’s leader of the happenings within regions are falsified. Then there’s also the fact that some areas are basically ignored. These regions are left to their own devices to deal with whatever problems happening there.

In a way, Talyein unfortunately, plays a role in this continuous cycle. She is willfully ignorant. She acknowledges that there are issues, and corruption is rampant in her kingdom. However, she doesn’t act on them to make some sort of difference. She feeds into the status quo.

To make matters worse, she knows little about the true ongoings within her kingdom. She doesn’t bother to look into things herself. She was far too busy chasing ghosts and an absentee husband to make an impact that matters.

Harsh, yes. But it is the truth.

And the Pièce de Résistance? The Characters.
Villoso’s character work is absolutely phenomenal. The characters are all incredibly intricate and intriguing figures. She isn’t afraid to explore the ugly side of humanity to bring these people to life.

Talyien continues to shine. I have already discussed my thoughts on the similarities between her and real-life Filipino women, so I won’t rehash that here.

But God, I love Talyien. I absolutely worship the ground Villoso walks on because she has crafted one of my favorite characters. She is so intricate, so flawed, so human. There were those moments where I could absolutely understand where she was coming from, but then there were those other times when I could not.

Had it not been for risking spoilers? I would be rambling on and on about her.

Look, Talyien loves with her entire heart and soul. You can never question her love for country and family. But between this love? There is that never-ending question of legacy.

To quote the musical Hamilton: Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.
As Yeshin’s only living child, Talyien is forced to carry on his legacy. Throughout the series, much of her actions have had her question, “What would Yeshin’s daughter do?”

Not Talyien. Not Tali. Yeshin’s daughter.

She spent her entire life wondering, “What would my father say?” She’s not thinking for herself. This line of thinking has hampered her ability to function as a queen, wife, and mother. As I said above, she spent too much time chasing ghosts and allowing this toxic mentality to rule over her life.

Do I think it’s fair that Talyien must carry this burden of her father’s legacy while also dealing with this misogynistic society that expects perfection right off the bat? No, of course not. It’s complete bullish!t.

Had Talyien been a man, do I think that the warlords (& thus the people) would be quicker to forgive her? That they would have given her a second or a third or a tenth chance at being a good ruler? Absolutely.

This brings me to my next point.

Men can make as many mistakes as they want, but they will still command more respect than Talyien (and real-life Filipino women).
As I mentioned before, I saw many similarities between Talyien and real-life Filipino women. But for this book, I could not help but notice the similarities between Rayyel, Agos, and real-life Filipino men. They’re all cut from the same cloth. Ok, before you try to feed me to a dragon, hear me out.

Rayyel prefers to keep his head buried in books and prefers cold hard logic over anything else. He keeps his heart and emotions locked away. I have multiple entries throughout my ARC copy, where I question whether Rayyel can feel emotions at all. Then you have Agos who is all about violence and using force, even when it’s obviously incredibly stupid. He wears his heart on his sleeves and makes no attempt to hide his feelings.

But while they have these differences, they sit on opposite sides of the same coin.
It doesn’t matter that one is royal, and the other is not. Much like many Filipino men, hypocrisy is embedded in both of their DNA. And unfortunately, like Filipino men, they can get away with so much because society lets them. While Talyien is crucified by everyone for her actions, these men can do the exact same thing and get away with it.

They dare to scold Talyien for her actions even though they are doing the exact same thing. It is outrageous, so utterly infuriating, and quite frankly? Upsetting.

It goes back to the point I made in my review of the first book. Talyien parallels Filipino women who bear the brunt of society’s expectations. She is expected to exceed people’s expectations of her while staying within the lines of her gender’s “responsibilities” and “roles.” She can never make a mistake because she must be as perfect in every role she is placed into: daughter, wife, mother, lover, princess, queen. It doesn’t matter if others make mistakes. It becomes her duty to fix it because it is somehow her fault.

Rayyel and Agos, on the other hand?

They are free to make as many mistakes as possible.
Consequences? What consequences? They are not the ones who will bear the burden of their mistakes and actions.

Take a look at Rayyel. Although he was the one who made the conscious decision to abandon his family and his duties, Talyien is the one who carried the burden of his decision all these years. Talyien made attempts to keep their marriage alive even before it began. Rayyel, on the other hand, was the one whose head as buried elsewhere. And yet according to society, whose fault is it that this marriage collapsed?

And let’s not forget Agos. Have you have followed my live tweets or my GR updates? Well, if you did, then you know by now I absolutely found Agos abhorrent so forgive me as I try to contain my rage when writing about him.

Agos is the biggest hypocrite of them all.
He is no different from Rayyel. The only difference between them is where Rayyel attempts to use cold hard logic to deal with his problems, Agos uses violence. You can reason with Rayyel. Give him the facts and present it with considerable evidence, and he will see the light.

Agos, on the other hand? His loyalty is to Talyien and Talyien alone. The combination of his deep devotion to Talyien and his excessive use of violence makes him far more terrifying, in my opinion. On the surface, Agos seems like this wonderful, albeit troubled, man who adores Talyien and is on her side. But I could not support or stand him due to his machismo, hypocrisy, and actions throughout this book.

I may be writing a post where I discuss this in further detail. Since this is an ARC review, I want to give people a chance to read this book for themselves without me spoiling essential details about specific people.

However, I want you to take a close look at the things he tells people. I want you to pay close attention to the things he does and the things he scolds other characters, including Talyien, for doing or saying.

Do I recommend The Ikessar Falcon?
Holy moly cannoli, HECK YES!!!! Pick up this book immediately. Or pick up The Wolf of Oren-Yaro first if you haven’t read that and then read The Ikessar Falcon immediately after. You are truly missing out on some masterful storytelling set in a Southeast Asian inspired world if you don’t pick this series up ASAP.

The Ikessar Falcon is the continuing story of Talyien aren dar Orenar, the Queen of Jin-Sayeng. After the events of The Wolf of Oren-yaro, Tali is trapped across the sea in the Empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro, held there by an embargo placed by… well, someone who really doesn’t want her to leave. Tali is desperate to get back to Jin-Sayeng because her son’s life is in danger. So, she does everything that’s in her power to get home. And shenanigans are very much had.

Just as when I read it the first time, I enjoyed The Ikessar Falcon very much. Tali has really grown as a character and she continues to grow throughout the book. Characters that grew on me in book one are back, as are characters that I did not like so much. We see more of Tali’s estranged husband Rayyel in this one (as would be expected, considering he is the titular Ikessar Falcon). Khine and Agos are still around as well, being their most ridiculous selves. We see more action in this one, I found. Tali is fighting her enemies as well as new enemies closer to home, and the fighting has become a lot more physical than just words. Intrigue and political maneuvering are happening on both sides of the sea, and we go on a thrillride through it just as Tali does.

Then there are the dragons. Many dragons. Handle it, Tali.

This series is very character driven, and it has those characters you can’t help but love, and other characters that you can’t help but loathe. Most of all though, Villoso has crafted some of the most tense romantic tension between characters that I’ve ever read. It made this book very difficult to set aside to do things like eat, even despite the fact that I have read it before (that said, food is described in some detail in this book and it makes me hungry every time, lol). I knew… things… were going to happen. And yet, it was almost more feels-jostling the second time around, knowing what was to come.

This was a hard book to put down, especially in the second half, because there is just so much stuff going on. This is very much a ‘okay, just oooone more chapter’ book for me, and suddenly 3am is staring me in the face. It just compels you to keep on reading no matter the time. This time around, the last quarter or so of this book was even more feels-jostling than I remember. I didn’t have my feels shields up as much as I should have and suddenly I was having feelings about characters that I didn’t even like. ಠ_ಠ

So all told, I think I loved this book even more the second time around. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s gone through some additional re-writes and editing since I read it the first time, or if it’s because I just needed a reread of this book in my life, but either way, my rating hasn’t changed. It’s still a full 5/5 stars!~

preventing total chaos
Following the events of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, Talyien must to find a way home and save her son before the entire nation erupts into a giant bloodbath. The uneasy alliances she makes and every step of her journey determines the future of the lands her father shed so much blood to unify. We're united with a cast of characters that, despite their imperfections and my misgivings, have grown on me quite a bit (well except for a certain esteemed prince). This sequel easily has all the elements of epic fantasy that I adore but manages to add a level of intricacy that makes it wholly unique.

honoring the legacy
Dare I say, the most iconic line of this series is, "they call me the bitch queen?" I swear every time I hear or read that line I just want to fist pump in the air. From the beginning, Talyien has completely redefined what it means to be a strong heroine in adult fantasy. As a mother, she is driven by her love and protection for her son; as a queen, she must grapple with the understanding that her life and decisions are never fully her own. Her struggles, while I cannot relate to personally, resonated with me because of her need to honor the world her father had created. She has to question how his vision was crumbling if it was meant to establish peace and unity among the warlords.

This explores the conversation on honoring the legacies of the past which is something I loved reading about. Traditions are an aspect of modern and fantastical societies that dictate how our lives are organized. The societal norm and class structures are a construct that we see challenged yet the change that is desired is rarely brought about. Through the lens of Talyien and the Oren-yaro, we are able to catch a glimpse into the power that traditions hold - something that is reminiscent of many Asian cultures. The histories of one's culture are often contradicted with the "progressive pathway" of the present, especially in today's age, and the portrayal of the struggle to balance change with the fear of destroying the past hit me so hard.

no such thing as allies
I am a sucker for plot and high-stakes politics and The Ikessar Falcon delivers that and more. Where the first installment includes inevitable danger and constantly shifting loyalties that hold together Jin-Sayeng, the sequel introduces a whole new level of complexities with the political schemes of the warlords. One of the best aspects of this story, in particular, is how the development of the plot is mirrored by the development of the characters. Talyien is forced to determine how much of her father's legacy she is willing to embody and if becoming Yeshin's daughter is worth the risk of losing herself.

Enemies become allies only for allies to become enemies and there seems to be no end to how far the decisions of the dead continue to control the actions of the living.

I finished The Ikessar Falcon days ago and I still don't know how to write this book review. First off, we stan a book series that includes a mini-recap at the beginning. Considering the bombshells that went off in The Wolf of Oren Yaro, we all know we needed one. While I utterly fell in love with Tali in the first book, what I adored in the sequel was how much Villoso expanded on Tali's world. I will always be in awe of how masterful Villoso is able to balance a growing world, political tensions, and betrayals. The Ikessar Falcon is one of the best fantasy sequels I've read in a while.

What I loved was how familiar and different this sequel was. On one hand, I was so happy to be back not only with Tali, but with the other characters in this world. I fell back into this book, immersed in the politics, and the new adventures. But at the same time, The Ikessar Falcon feels different altogether as Tali is forced to examine her power as a ruler and her relationships. It's a sequel that takes us even deeper not only into the betrayals and secrets, but also into Tali's life. Her expectations, her longing, and her mindset.

I requested an ARC of the first book in this series kind of on a whim. To be frank, I was actually kind of put off by the series being titled "Chronicles of the Bitch Queen." I mean, I get it...she-wolves, bitch, yep. And I'm sure it's also `tied in with the fact that Talyien is not a beloved queen. But still, it's kind of an abrasive series title, and I wasn't sure what exactly I was getting into. Turned out, what I was getting into was an intriguing new fantasy world headed-up by a no-nonsense but still deeply flawed heroine. So after finishing that first book, it was really exciting to see that the second was coming out only 6 months later. And here we are!

Talyien's situation hadn't started out well when she set off from her homeland in the hopes of reconciling with the husband that had abandoned her and her son years earlier. It had only gotten worse since with repeated assassination attempts, betrayal, said husband heading back to her home, potentially to kill their son, leaving Talyien stranded in a foreign country with very few friends. But she is nothing if not persistent, especially when the life of her son is at stake. As she makes her way back to him, however, Talyien covers an even deeper web of lies, one that exists not only in the present but extends back to the past.

I think I liked this book even more than the first! For one thing, I'm still really enjoying the first person narration but told from the POV of an adult woman. All too often, the only place I really see first person narration is in YA novels with teenage protagonists. And this, in turn, leads to a certain immaturity in their focus (don't get me wrong, I still love me a good YA fantasy, but the narrators can sometimes be a bit silly). But here, we have an adult who has a full history behind her, one that she is capable of looking back on and recognizing her own and others' mistakes. It also makes all of her interactions with those around her particularly interesting. In some ways, she's an unreliable narrator as her perceptions of others and their motivations are always colored by what she knows (or guesses) about them. But we also have an inside look into how their actions and words influence her.

This book also seemed to expand on almost all aspects. We see more of the world-building as Talyien and her crew travel around trying to make their way back to her son. I really enjoyed out fully fleshed out this world feels. We hear about the different foods, languages, and cultural behaviors from place to place. And it's all presented in a very natural-feeling way, no info dumping. There was also more of magic to found in this second book and more action in general.

I also really liked how much more we learned about Talyien's father and his actions. There's also a pretty deep-dive into the lasting influence that her father has had on Talyien. From the very start of the book, it's clear that his perceptions of her, his lessons, his strengths and failures as a parent are a continual influence on Talyien's own perception of herself and of the choices she can make. She, of course, is also unreliable in her memories of him, as we, the reader, can see some of his flaws in a more clear way than she can.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It felt like it took what the first book laid down as a foundation and started really building up from there. Everything just felt more fully fleshed out, and the story was even more exciting. Of course, it's no surprise that Talyien's story doesn't end here with rainbows and butterflies, so I'm excited to see what happens in the third book. Don't forget to enter to win an ARC copy of this book as well!

Rating 8: Even bigger and better than the first!

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