Heads up you should read The Empire's Ghost before diving into this one

The Rightful Queen takes us back to Lantistyne where the multitude of characters is once again woven into an epic fantasy tale. I enjoyed how she tied up some loose ends for us from the first book while leaving enough breadcrumbs to leave us wanting a third book.

Steigler excels at the following:
- Writing history-rich and descriptive novels
- Making multiple POVs easy and entertaining
- Intricate worldbuilding with complex plotlines
- Developing real women whom female readers can relate to

I cannot wait to see whats in store for the next novel.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review. You can follow me on IG @JessicaReadsIt.

After seeing the recommendation of others to read the Empire's Ghost first, I would have to agree, and did. This novel is an epic fantasy with much going on. It's not a light read by any means. The world building is solid. Many character driven storylines. It took me back to reading authors such Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series.

I received an ARC via netgalley.

This novel was an incredibly long story that I feel needs a few revisits for any kind of review to truly do justice. I did start and stop with this novel quite a bit because it was a bit intimidating in its sheer length. In saying that, the pacing was quite good and we weren't being bogged down in monotonous story.
The characters were likeable and enjoyable to read about. I certainly enjoyed this sequel more than the first, though it is essential reading for this volume.

WOW. This book is just FULL. There is so much going on I feel like if I read this one 3x I would still discover new information I missed. Taking this on is a commitment but one that is really worth it in the end! Looking forward to more in the world.

I am reviewing the entire series because I struggled through book one but was very glad that I continued the series because I really enjoyed books 2 and 3. I normally DNF books that I am struggling through but I really enjoyed the world building in this one and the writing is lovely. The issue I ran into in book one was that there were far too many POV's. While there are often a lot of POV's in fantasy books this one had too many too early, which meant I didn't care about most of them. I will also note that this is a series where you immediately need the next book because everything is left so open ended. Books 2 and 3 were very well done. The characters were far more fleshed out and had a lot more depth and likeability. I loved the world building, the intrigue and the writing. If you're a fan of fantasies this is a series worth checking out!

The Rightful Queen picks up right where Empire’s Ghost left off and is much easier to get into now that so much of the world and characters have been established. I also found the writing and flow to be more cohesive which made it easier to really get into and stay in the story.

While it does pick up right away with somewhat less info dumping, it is just such a massive story with the number of main characters that it is jumping between, that it was a kind of odd duality of some of the individual sections feeling fast-paced and having some urgency, but the story overall being a very slow burn.

One thing I was hoping for after reading the first book is that the characters would get a little more developed this time, given more layers and depth…and I do feel like that mostly happened. It is a large cast so realistically there’s only so much space to devote to really getting deeply into everyone but I definitely had clear favorites that I was especially rooting for by the end and I’m looking forward to diving straight into book three to see how everything wraps up.

I (yet again) requested the third book in a growing series. I just plowed through the first two chonkers and call me crazy, but I'm loving these.

Paths of Lantistyne is an RPG inspired intricately faceted epic fantasy series. Magic is a mythical tale that whispers at the edges of the plot. War is knocking on the doors of neighboring lands and political ploys are digging graves and counting coin.

The Rightful Queen easily passes the 500 page mark and while that may seem daunting, it expertly held my attention. Picking up at where the first leaves off and building on the paths of the various characters in book one. You can see Steiger's growth not only in the world building but the writing intricacies of the narrative, deceptions and follow through of each diverging line. The edition of LGBTQ representation fit nicely too. The reveals for the history of some of our prime characters was just excellent. At this point I'm running out of adjectives to describe how much I'm enjoying these.

Up next is The Risen City releasing the 20th of Dec. I cannot wait to see where Steiger takes these characters and what will be revealed next. Thank you St Martins Press for the gifted digital copies!

This book was so much stronger than the first in the series. Loved the political development and how the characters worked together. These series are comforting, not many of them died and you get attached to every single one of them. Loved how female rulers are represented, with all the challenges they are still facing due to their gender but their strong ability to overcome them.
I still had issues following the story with multiple POVs being put in one chapter, however now that I knew the main cast it was so much easier to follow.
Can't wait to read the last book and find out what happens!

I have been provided with a review copy of The Rightful Queen from NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the second book in Paths of Lantistyne series and I just loved getting to reenter this world. This book was just so easy to get lost in. I completely got lost in the story and I just loved getting to see these new characters come together. I just absolutely love this story and I just didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

This is an amazing book that will grab you and you are unable to put it down till you finish the last page. It moves along at a great pace making for an enjoyable read. The characters are awesome and you will fall in love with them no matter what happens and the story grabs you and keeps you reading till the end. This book is a must read, no doubt about it.

The Rightful Queen Paths of Lantistyne Book 2 by Isabelle Steiger

539 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 21, 2020

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Sword, Sorcery, Magic, Mages

Imperator Elgar is trying to conquer more lands within Lantistyne. Newly crowned King Kelken who just turned twelve, sneaks out his castle and arrives on the doorstep of Arianrod Margraine. Adora Avestri, the rightful queen of Issamira is declared dead. She needs the strength of a powerful mage to beat her opponent. Luckily, she just happens to know one.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This is the second book in the Paths of Lantistyne series. There is magic and sword fighting galore. I love the stone bombs and other creative forms of magic. If you like fantasy kingdom stories, you will enjoy reading this book.

Complex, deadly, and with a cast of compelling characters, this is the perfect fix if you love Game of Thrones or anything by Mark Lawrence.

Such a great book! I enjoyed reading this one so much! I highly recommend this book. Side note: the cover!!!!

I went into this book knowing nothing of the first book and I got to say, it was pretty good. The large cast of characters made me feel like I was reading game of thrones but it was better and the author did the woman characters justice. But that wasn't what bothered me, what bothered me was that I felt like the book didn't need to be as long as it was. 500 pages? Ok, but it really could've been 400 at most. I know the author had a lot to give with this book but I just feel like 500 was a bit much. Elaborately detailed story, but it definitely could've been about 50-100 pages shorter.

The Rightful Queen by Isabelle Steiger
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This is the second book in a new fantasy series. The first book is The Empire’s Ghost.
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This fantasy has a lot going on. There are multiple countries on the continent, ruled by various people. One country has an ambitiour ruler named Elgar, who appears determined to conquer the entire continent. There is hints of magic, which existed years ago, coming back. There are legends of a group of rulers called The Ninists, that I am anxious to know more about. And throughout it all there is a group of friends who hang out in a tavern that we follow and I kind of love them.
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I really enjoyed this second book, and have new favorite characters that weren’t mentioned much or at all in the first book. I am looking forward to more from this series whenever I can get it!!
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The world building in this is done very well. Just keep in mind that world building takes time and fantasy books don’t read the same as quick thrillers. You’re in it for the long haul and at the end you’ll have an amazing rich world that you wish you could live in and be devastated that it’s over.
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4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked the things that happened in this story and the set ups for what could happen next have me really excited.

This is book 2 of the Paths of Lantistyne Series. In a tale of magic, intrigue, war, and battles for power, this is a sweeping tale of a land searching for peace. War is once again waging on the continent, and Adora Avestri must seize power once and for all.

This is the second book in Isabelle Steiger's fantasy series. Having read and enjoyed book one, I really appreciated this second installment. The book is full of twists and turns, and I loved how the characters grew throughout this book. The one criticism that i would give is that, like all high fantasys, the cast of characters was huge! It was hard to keep track at times, but it all started to make sense as the connections between them grew.

Second in the series this book is a little more of a slow burn, but no less engaging. In fact the writing is certainly better than the first and the richness of the world makes the reader feel as if they are there in the book. One of the most notable things about this series is the richness of the female characters in particular. I think those of us who have fallen in love with this series will be impatiently waiting for book 3.

This book was so fast-paced! There was action, plot twists, and great character development! It might even be better than the first one.

I haven't heard this story mentioned much, but I am so glad I found it and really enjoyed reading it!