This is the second book in the series and I read the first one so long ago, I only really remember that I really really liked it. This one took me a long time to get into and remember what was going on and who all the characters were. By the time I was into it again, it was over. The main "boss fight" was a total let down. After two books of building up to this showdown with the big bad demon King Phras, he goes down without much of a fight. Cal literally does nothing.! Not the epic battle I expected. The "happy ending" is a stretch at best. I rolled my eyes hard. This book was just lacking the danger and excitement and romance that I liked in the first installment. I feel let down.

Thank you @PenguinTeen and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Queen’s Secret by Melissa de la Cruz for this advanced copy of The Queen’s Secret. This is the final book in the Queen’s Secret duology and I wasn’t ready for it to end! I loved the political intrigue and the magic. Melissa is also a queen at world building and sucking you into the story. I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters, including the side characters. I think that the level of creativity that The Queen’s Secret has is something that sets it apart from other fantasy. This book kept me on edge - the ending was exactly what I felt like it needed to be. I don’t want to be too spoilery as this is the sequel/ending!

Thank you again for inviting me onto this journey! I can’t wait to read more from Cruz!!

An AMAZING book, everyone needs to read it!
I love Melissa De La Cruz's writing, and I loved the fantasy elements.
I also cried during this book. Need more.

The Queen's Secret
Melissa Dela Cruz

I enjoyed this fantasy adventure duology from one of my favorite Filipina Authors, Melissa dela Cruz. I really enjoyed revisiting the love story between Shadow (Lilac) and Cal, the Queen's Assassin. I found their relationship to be heartbreaking and of course just like any star crossed lovers, this is how sometimes things resolve. The world building was so compelling i just wanted to read more about their love, their relationship and adventures. This was such a magical read I enjoyed and sad to see this lovely series end. Overall a great read and I love how the story really drew me in to the world and the characters.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I was hoping to. This book seemed too focused on Lilac and Cal’s forbidden romance that the rest of the plot felt cast aside and rushed at the end. And the whole point to Cal’s blood oath from the first book seems irrelevant until the very end of book two. Another thing I was disappointed with was the character development. In The Queen’s Assassin, most of the plot rests on Shadow/Lilac and Cal so the character development wasn’t really an issue. However, in The Queen’s Secret, there are many more characters with semi-prominent roles in the plot that barely get any development or enhancement. While I love a good fantasy/romance book. I felt that the plot got sacrificed for the sake of the romantic elements that weren’t even all the satisfying in the end. So while I was not disappointed with the first book in this duology, I was a little disappointed with this one.

This Cover is absolutely gorgeous! It pairs perfectly with the first book in this series THE QUEEN’S ASSASSIN. I really enjoyed the first novel, I enjoyed it when I read it a year ago, and I enjoyed it even more recently after having listened to the audiobook version. I highly recommend reading/listening to it before tackling The Queen’s Secret.

In doing my best to not give any spoilers, The Queen’s Secret dives deeper into the relationship between Lilac and Cal that we were introduced to in the first book. I felt like it was more focused on they character development as individuals, and well as their relationship. It was heart breaking at moments (read it to find out why). I appreciated the in depth writing, and the magical world surrounding the story. I can’t wait to listen to this audiobook version as well.

If you’re a fan of titles like, An Ember in the Ashes, and Caraval, this one’s for you!!

This was not what I expected. I really enjoyed the vibe of the first book and the building connection between Cal and Lilac. How they uncovered hidden conspiracies and worked together on their journey. It was the setup for what I hoped would be an exciting new plot for book two. I am kinda shocked at book two. It seemed centered around the relationship of Cal and Lilac and Cal’s inability to truly be with Lilac. My heart absolutely broke for Cal as everything progressed and it left me feeling sourly depressed for him as a character. I lost my original impression of Lilac as a fierce fighter and strong heroine. I just wanted so much more from her. She is not the character I remember from book one.

What kept me intrigued was the evil magic and sorcery occurring. I found myself eager to get to this portion of the storyline anytime it reverberated back to the relationship aspect of things. I want to give credit to the author for the ending. It was not what I expected at all. Even if it is not the outcome I hope for, I do love when an ending wraps up well and is unexpected. It leaves a lingering remembrance for me.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. Melissa de la Cruz knows how to draw you into a story. I loved the angst and my heart ached every time Lilac and Cal were forced apart. The ending was perfect for Cal and Lilac even if a bit shocking.

I debated quite a bit on what to rate this book but this is how I see it: this book is YA. It is marketed towards a demographic that is younger than me. So I tried to review it the way my 14 year old self might've. And she would've loved all the fluff where nothing was really happening, and found the ending perfect instead of rushed. The inconsistencies between Lilac in book 1 and Lilac in book 2 would've barely been noticed. 14 year old Sami would've given this book 4 stars.

For the target demographic, I would recommend this duology.

The Queen’s Secret is the ending of a duology and I felt both sad to see it end but also fulfilled at its outcome. YA fantasy is one of those genres where sometimes one has to suspend belief and just go with it, this is, in fact, why I love the genre so much.

This being said, Lilac is still a tough heroine and one that I admired for her choices, she’s put aside many of Shadow’s warrior tendencies and taken on more of a Queenly role but there’s a reason for this and it doesn’t show until the very end of the book. I was a bit disappointed that Lilac didn’t maintain some of the things I loved about her from The Queen’s Assassin. And then there’s Cal, oh Cal! My heart wept for you so many times. So much want and angst <insert sob face>

The intrigue and magic along with the world building are complex and compelling, the evil characters are, indeed, evil and I liked the suspense they created. There’s a lot going on in The Queen’s Secret and the creativity of the magical system is one of the things I loved most about it; the magical attacks bring in a whole new set of worries and battles that kept me on edge wondering what would happen next.

My thanks to Penguin Teen for gifting me a copy of The Queen’s Secret in exchange for my review.

While I get what this book was trying to portray, it just made me feel awful for Cal. All the poor guy did was fall in love with a girl and have his heart ripped out repeatedly. Yes, it was hard on Lilac too, but she could have renounced her title and lived happily ever after... Cal couldn't do anything to make himself good enough for her.

I really wanted to love this book. The idea of the book is an intriguing one, and I feel like it could have been a really captivating story, but it fell flat for me. I think part of the issue is that this book seems a little too young for me, but the main issue was that nothing really interesting happened until I was 75% into the book. I realized that I could skip pages at a time, and not really miss any information. Also, the big conflict in the book was resolved over the course of like four pages. It felt extremely anticlimactic, and honestly a little rushed. There was a lot going on with the storyline, and a lot of the plot just seemed like fluff.

I also really wanted to love these characters, but I did not. Lilac and Cal spent the entire book talking about their feelings but still never really acting upon them. I was unable to get into the story enough to where I cared what happened. This book has all the potential to be a great fantasy story, but the execution needs a lot of work.

Lilac is the princess of Renovia by birth, and the queen of Stavin from her marriage to King Hansen. But her heart belongs to Cal, an assassin sworn to protect the queen. For awhile Hansen and Lilac have an arrangement, they are married in name only, and each has lovers in secret. But when a series of strange events begin occurring in the kingdom of Stavin, Hansen decides it is time for them to stand together as a unit, and produce an heir to unite their kingdoms. But strange things continue to occur, and Lilac and Cal race to figure out who is behind them before it is too late.

I loved the first book in this duo-logy, but the second one just fell a bit flat for me. It was enjoyable to read, and I loved being back in the world of Avantine, but the elements I loved from the Queen’s Assassin were sorely lacking from The Queen’s Secret, such as the epic quest and the witty banter between the two leads. What I didn’t like was that there were not enough scenes between the two leads. I liked how it ended, but it took a while to get there.

I wish I had taken the time to re-read The Queen’s Assassin before reading The Queen’s Secret. There was so much that I had forgotten, and many of the world-building topics are not re-explained as they are revisited in the second book. This will not be an issue for those that are reading the two books together, but if it’s been a few months since you read the first book, I would recommend skimming or rereading the first book.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

The premise of the story is built on a marriage needing to start a family and their lovers opposing this decision. It made for an interesting story and the need to see the ending kept me interested throughout.

The end was wrapped up almost too well. It was too unrealistic to me. However, the story didn’t present a clear ending, there wasn’t a best scenario. Even if it ended differently, I don’t know if I would’ve been satisfied. However, when it ended, it was over quickly and was anticlimactic.

Full review and content details are on my blog!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. This book releases March, 2. 2021.

The Queens Secret is a sequel and overall I enjoyed it. Usually sequels are my favorite but the first book was definitely a little better. This sequel was still very good and entertaining. The ending is what had me shook!

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) This starts out with the two love interests regularly being forced apart. It’s essential for the story and builds interest as it progresses. Many more elements are added and the drama builds.

The premise of the story is built on a marriage needing to start a family and their lovers opposing this decision. It made for an interesting story and the need to see the ending kept me interested throughout.

The end was wrapped up almost too well. It was too unrealistic to me. However, the story didn’t present a clear ending. There wasn’t a best scenario. Even if it ended differently, I don’t know if I would’ve been satisfied. However, when it ended, it was over quickly and was anticlimactic. This happened with the climax of the story also.

The POV’s are once again in 1st and 3rd person, however, it didn’t bother me this time. It flowed well without any problems.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall I am rating this book 3.5/4 stars. I was very excited to for this sequel because the ending of The Queen' Assassin left me a bit speechless. I was a bit disappointed with the overall plot of The Queen's Secret and the lack of any real development in the relationship between Shadow/Lilac and Cal. The two main characters were barely with each other for the duration of the book and when they were together they were fighting. Honestly, I was a bit tired of Lilac and her woe is me attitude. I understand that now as the Queen she has certain responsibilities but what happened to the strong, warrior we met in The Queen's Assassin? I was waiting for her to step up and be the the same heroine from the first book but all we got was one shining moment at the end of the book. Also, what happened to the magic that she had from the first book? There was no development on that front when so much of the book could have been focused on that instead of her sitting in the castle. Cal was only slightly better throughout the book and I wish we had seen a bit more character development from both of them. Their relationship does rely heavily on the angst and it did break my heart a bit every time they had to say goodbye to each other.

I was surprised with the ending of the book but in a good way. Without giving away to much, I do appreciate that Melissa de la Cruz gave us a very unexpected ending. She took a route that I have never read in a book especially a YA book. While it was a bit surprising I personally appreciated that it did not end in the perfect happily ever after tied up with a neat bow. The ending stayed true to the entire relationship between Lilac and Cal and left me satisfied. Overall this is a series that I would recommend to other readers.

Disclaimer: I recieved this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge fan of Melissa de la Cruz's books and this one does not disappoint!!! I love Lilac and Caledon's relationship and this was a highly anticipated book so I'm SO glad it lived up to my expectations.

While I found The Queen's Assassin somewhat filled with tropes, I still didn't mind and enjoy reading certain tropes occasionally. With The Queen's Secret, I was hoping to see a lot more character development, better plot twists, and more romance!

The Queen's Secret definitely brought some more interesting plot points and I enjoyed it for the most part. While I still devoured this series, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was younger. Though I enjoyed reading The Queen's Assassin as a quick and easy read, I think The Queen's Assassin had a lot more going on and I really got drawn in!

If you're looking for a quick read full of magic and romance, this is for you!

This was a great end to this duology! I think that two books was the perfect length for this series and I really enjoyed being able to revisit these characters in The Queen's Secret.
The romance was one of my favorite things about the first book and it continued to pull me in throughout this second book as well. The forbidden love situation was filled with so much angst and tension, I was dying for Lilac and Cal to be reunited.
The magic system and world building definitely lived up to what was presented in the first book! This had a fast-moving plot with fun fantasy elements that made for a great, engaging read. This book and duology as a whole are definitely perfect for readers who enjoy romance, royalty, magic and adventure.

Didn’t realize that this was a sequel to the “Queens Assassin”! Will have to come back after having read the original as I felt very lost but overall seemed great and look forward to reading both!