Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

The Spirit Queen picks up soon after the first book. Many of the main characters are back, and we continue getting to know Calliope, Prewitt, and the Glade girls. In this book, Calliope is struggling to understand why she doesn't have the magical abilities queens should have. As trouble comes and people question her lack of abilities, she needs to resolve the issues and find out how to access the magic.

The book takes place in a fun world, and the characters are engaging and varied. I liked the world about the power of stories and how even the stories we try to avoid are important and impact our lives.

This book was harder to get through than the first. To be honest, I can't pinpoint exactly why. It just didn't maintain my interest, and it felt much longer than it was. Readers who loved the first book and its characters will likely still enjoy the book. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed.

THE FIREBIRD SONG was one of my favorite books last year, so when I saw this sequel, I absolutely had to read it. It begins soon after the first book leaves off, with Calliope and Prewitt working together trying to rebuild the kingdom. Only something is still terribly wrong, and Calliope isn’t sure how to fix it. She should have access to the same magic that past queens held, but her only advisor, the Bookkeeper, doesn’t know the particulars about how it works.

I loved getting to revisit some of my favorite characters, namely Calliope, Prewitt, and Ilsbeth, the leader of the Glade Girls. The story follows all three of them with snippets of scenes told from a few other points of view. Ilsbeth might have been my favorite. She’s the girl who won’t stop until things get done, and I love that about her. She’s pragmatic and fierce, and I love that.

THE SPIRIT QUEEN seemed a tiny bit less well-organized than THE FIREBIRD SONG, though. Sometimes I felt like a scene shifted point-of-view too subtly, so I had to go back and reread a few paragraphs in order to be sure I understood what was happening. This problem may have been corrected in the final version of the story– I only read a pre-release copy, so more editing has happened since I read the book myself.

Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed the story world and the theme about the power of stories, specifically the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we try to lock away and forget and the ways those impact us. Those threads in the book were especially cool.

I also liked its messages about fear and hope. I loved the way those ideas played out in Calliope’s journey. With her magic connected to hope, she had the best emotional arc in the whole book, I think. I loved the way her past memories and fears as well as the current situation she was in fit together. They helped her understand what she had to do to save her people.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading THE SPIRIT QUEEN a lot. I think readers who enjoyed THE UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko or THE RAVEN HEIR by Stephanie Burgis will enjoy this one.

Review Posted: 10/19/22

Children who enjoy fantasy stories will like this story and will find themselves relating to some of the characters.

Princess Calliope hears strange noises at night, cries, fearful screams and they keep her awake at night. She is the only person who can hear these noises and she is afraid to speak out about them. Her Kingdom of Lyrica runs along smoothly, or so it seems. Not all is as it seems. When her friend, Ilsbeth is kidnapped Calliope knows she is the one to deal with this dreadful situation. She and her friend, Bargeboy Prewitt, go on a journey together to save Ilsbeth.

Princess Calliope is the last heir to the throne - she is just a kid, she has a lot of learning yet to do, but it's up to her to save the kingdom. In order to do this she has to start acting like the Queen that she will become.

The second book in the series, following the first book the Kingdom of Lyrica is suppose to finally have balance in it’s nature.. however the people are still afraid. Princess Calliope has started hearing noises, horrible screams and cries that keep her awake at night. However, she is the only person who can hear it and she must find out where it’s coming from. When her friend Ilsbeth is kidnapped she and Bargeboy Prewitt will go on another journey together in order to save her. Princess Calliope is the last descendent to the throne and is still learning how to be a ruler. in order to save her friend and her kingdom she will have to find the confidence to act like a Queen.

*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, Bloomsbury Children's Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*