I absolutely LOVE this series. I think there are stories that have some amazing characters or a good plot, but this book has it all! Amanda Joy is an amazingly beautiful writer and has created the most magical world filled with well thought-out characters taking on a twisting plot full of romance and adventure. This may just be one of the best series I have read this year, if not of all.

I love reading Eva's story and though I totally understand why this is a duology, I can't help but wish for more! Besides the amazing characters, I just truly love magic in this series and it is so fun to follow the characters as they reveal more and more of the magic and culture in the world they live in.

This series is truly amazing and unforgettable! If you're looking for an action-packed, magical story with some romance, this is the series for you!

Review posted on GoodReads (February 4, 2021)
Review Linked.

3.75/5 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review.

Amanda Joy's writing is so beautiful, and I fell in love with this world and its characters in the first book. This was such a fun sequel that not only expands on the world and the characters we fell in love with in the first book, but also has a plot that will pull you in from the first page. One of my favorite things about this book was learning more about Isadore's character. She was such an interesting character, and I liked seeing her and Eva's relationship develop over the course of this book.

I did have a few issues with this book. One was that the entire ending felt very rushed. There were also a few questions that I had about characters and the plot, and all of it felt like it was wrapped up in a pretty bow way too quickly. The only other thing I didn't love about this book was actually the romance. Usually, the romance is my favorite part of any book, but for this series, I felt as if the romance wasn't necessary. The romantic plot felt second in terms to everything else, and I found myself not really that invested in any of the romances.

Overall, I thought that this was a good sequel. I really recommend this series to everyone because it is such a pretty, unique, fantastical YA Fantasy!

Thanks for reading!
Caden

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

A Queen of Gilded Horns is the sequel to A River of Royal Blood. I enjoyed A River of Royal Blood quite a bit, and I was very much looking forward to the sequel. A River of Royal Blood is told almost exclusively from the perspective of Eva, the younger princess, and I had this thought while I was reading it that the one thing that would have made it better would be if it had been told in alternating perspectives between the two princesses. A Queen of Gilded Horns is told in multiple perspectives (yay!) but actually it suffers from being told from too many perspectives, and from only Eva's perspective being in first person. It was kind of a jarring read, since it switched between so many characters. I also found the plot to be incredibly slow, since most of the book is just Eva wandering around gathering allies and trying to figure out what to do with her sister. The only thing that really saved it for me is that I love several of the supporting characters, especially Prince Aketo and Captain Anali, and I also generally love the world-building in this series. I find the struggle between the humans and the khimaer to be very interesting, and I'd like to know more about all four types of sentient beings who occupy this world. I really would have loved more from Isa's perspective, since the whole series is built on the conflict between the two princesses, and I don't think there was really enough conflict in this book. Everything tied up nicely at the end, but I was left a bit unsatisfied.

While the world-building is lovely and many of the characters are interesting, unfortunately this book just fell a bit short for me.

I loved seeing Eva's growth! A satisfying conclusion and stronger writing than the first book. The new cover art is fantastic as well.

This book was a lot of fun! I liked how the author explored the relationship of the two sisters. The ending was very “happily ever after,” but that is what I needed to read right now. This book was the perfect read for me today.