This second in series picks up a few months after the events at the end of the first book. It did not disappoint and I cannot wait to read the final book in trilogy.

The real strength of this book is the Coven, with an incredibly well-written dynamic. The POV rotates between Aziza, Leo, and Tristan as in the first book. Their interactions were hilarious, heartfelt, tense, or all of those at once, and the best moments in the book are when the three of them are together. Their trust in and love for each other is so tangible.

Aziza continues to be my favorite character. Her cleverness, loyalty, and willingness to learn from mistakes make her confidence well-earned, and it's fun to see her leadership style shift in this book compared to the first as her relationships with Tristan and Leo have evolved.

We get a lot of worldbuilding as the fairies of Elphame and witches from outside Blackthorn are introduced in more detail. This expands the plot and the experiences of the trio broadly. There is a lot set up for the next book but the story arc here has just enough conclusion to not feel unfinished.

Overall this book was excellent. A gripping story, characters who are flawed but lovable, and gorgeous prose. I wish I could immediately start the next one!

The Summer Queen is the enthralling sequel to The Buried and the Bound and picks up right where the first book left off. Aziza, Tristan, and Leo have just defeated the hag and formed their coven. Aziza continues to monitor the boundary between Elphame and Blackthorn, while also trying to figure out what happened to the mysterious librarian (and who is this new (annoying) librarian). Tristan continues to work on his magic, while fighting his feelings for Leo. And Leo continues to try to find a cure for his curse, while dealing with Hazel's new identity. In the midst of everything, the Summer Court appears in Blackthorn and reveals a huge secret. Now, the Blackthorn Coven must travel to Elphame and compete in the Hunt.

The book is fast-paced with tons of action. The characters are absolutely fantastic! All three characters are once again POVs. The new characters are also interesting and definitely add to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to travel deeper into Elphame in this book. While definitely YA, I think readers of any age will fall-in-love with this book series. I highly recommend both books one and two. Easy 5 stars. I cannot wait for the third book!

Also, I absolutely love the pooka and all of Tristan's hounds (particularly Lucky). I couldn't not include them in this review.

The Summer Queen is the sequel to The Buried and the Bound and it's just as great as the first book. We again are following Aziza, Leo, and Tristan as they head out of Blackthorn and into Elphame to the Summer Court for a bit of a rescue mission. This book has so many secrets that get revealed and some of them are pretty major to the story-line. I felt like the ending to book two was the perfect set up for the next book and I cannot wait!

Also there's a creature called a pooka in this story and I am absolutely in love with it. Literally the most precious creature.

I think I am going to ugly cry when this series comes to a conclusion because I have had such a great time reading this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC.

Thank you for the chance to read the e-arc. This book is just as adventurous as the first one and I enjoyed how fast paced it was.

3.75/5 Stars

The Summer Queen is an excellent sequel to The Buried and the Bound. The story continues with Aziza, Leo, and Tristan, who are dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book, and the struggle of Hazel's new discovery. This book follows the Blackthorn Coven as they embark on a new adventure for the people they love.

We have brief introductions to interesting new characters, who I hope to see more of in future books. The Summer Queen has POC and LGBT representation as well. :)

Whilst I think this book had a great beginning and end, I do feel there was a lull in the middle. It is definitely packed with more adventure, but I feel like a chunk of it was rather drawn out and could have been shortened. I also didn't find myself really connecting with the characters as much as I would have liked. I do think they were well-written, and stayed true to who they were in the first book, but I was just missing that *certain something*. Now, this may be due to my age? The book is definitely more for the younger YA crowd, whereas I prefer older YA and NA, but I do think it is a great choice for young readers!

Overall, I loved how true Hassan stayed to the first story, and to the dark side of the faery world. I love the dark side of faery politics, and she definitely did it justice!

askjdfaksdfj okay so like. i love this. i love the worldbuilding, the way magic is just is, the way fairytales blend in, my little coven of dorks.

i can't wait to read the last book and see what trouble these three get themselves into. (i very much want to shake both leo and tristian like boys my babies come ON.)

thanks to netgalley and macmillian for the egalley!

The Summer Queen' surpasses its predecessor, crafting a gripping narrative with escalated stakes and profound character evolution. Set in the mesmerizing realm of Elphame, it intricately weaves a tale that not only introduces compelling new characters but also strengthens the bond among Aziza, Leo, and Tristan. The well-paced plot, richly depicted setting, and authentic friendships make for a captivating read.
Now that I finished it I’m just waiting for the next installment!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!

This was even better than the first book (which I loved)!

It was also stressful, lol! The stakes were high and the story doesn't pull its punches. The fact that I cared so deeply about what happened to the characters though shows how well they were all written.

Speaking of, they all had great character arcs in this book! I loved getting to know all three of them more and seeing them grow as individuals and as a team.

I can't wait to read the third book and see how everything comes together!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this story. The opinions are my true thoughts on the book)

What a great sequel! I loved the first book The Buried and The Bound and I think that this one was even better. We still have multi P.O.V from Aziza, Tristan, and Leo which, normally multi P.O.V's are hard for me to get into but I love these characters so much I'm happy to have their P.O.V's. It doesn't feel like it makes the story drag on.

The second book takes us out of Blackthorn and into Elphame and it's such a ride. We get to meet more Fae characters and this story really helps expand the world our characters live in. This book has so much tension and moments that kept me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed watching the budding romance between Leo and Tristan and watching Aziza grow and learn to let people in. It felt like all of the characters got to expierence growth in this story.

I will say that a lot happened in this book in a short amount of time. It felt like some parts were rushed and not fully explored. However. I do think that this story does set us up nicely for what I'm assuming will be book three, because the way to book ends screams for a book three and if there is not one I might cry.

So if you are look for a fast paced solid sequel I would definitely pick up this book!

4.5

I thought it would be hard to improve on the first book, but I liked this just as much if not more than the first one. It could just be a mix of me loving this world and the characters and just being happy to be back with them on their journey. I liked the direction this went in. I will be waiting anxiously for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review
The Summer Queen by Rochelle Hassan was an easy read; my best analogy for the series is a more PG version of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince. To me, this isn't a bad thing, as this novel places more of a focus on the magic system and world-building of the fae world. For a reader who enjoys a larger core group of characters and a quick fantasy read, The Summer Queen would be for you.

Wow!
I think I liked this even better than the first! It didn't suffer from middle book syndrome at all.
A lot of the book takes place in Elphame, which is always an interesting setting. There was a full cast of new side characters, who were interesting and I'm excited to see them return in book 3. The friendship between Aziza, Leo, and Tristan has really grown and feels real.
Fave character is Lucky. IYKYK 😉
The pacing was good and kept me wanting to turn the pages.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

This book (and series) is a really nice low fantasy story aimed at teenagers. When so many "YA" books are only differ from "Adult" or "NA" as designation of the spiciness of romance or gore of violence, this author is speaking to high school age kids. I found it was a well-told adventure even as an adult, but I realized early on that I would have related to it more when I was fifteen or sixteen. The series centers on three teenagers discovering and growing their magical powers as well as their normal human teenage experiences of love friendships, and place in family. Teens growing into themselves, exploring first loves, and trying to understand their place in a not-so-perfect family would find this book enjoyable and probably be excited for the continuation of the series.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

What a great follow up to the first book! Everything that worked just got better and with the setting now in Elphame it gave the book some higher stakes and more suspense! I loved all the court intrigue and just like the first time we met, I was completely enthralled by the dynamics of our trio! This book brought it all- a tough FMC, broody boys, all the fae court goodness, quests, and of course the much needed angsty romance that I just eat up! Need more soon!

First of all, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first book in this series. I'm obsessed with Aziza, Tristan and Leo so much. I loved the old school fairy tale vibes and the fresh takes on fae and faerie creatures. So imagine how happy I was when I started reading this sequel and ALL of the things that I loved in the first one are in this book in SPADES plus tons of new things to obsess over!

There are creepy creatures and conniving fae antics with royals and courts (but in such a fresh way). There's a magical road trip, growing magic powers, new side characters (both vile and wonderful), and just so much more lush, gorgeous writing to match the narrative that Hassan is weaving. If you like your faeries ethereal and cunning, they way they existed in ancient fairy tales, then this book is DEFINITELY for you!

The twists and turns of the story will keep you on the edge of your seat as Aziza, Leo and Tristan dig deeper into the mysteries and secrets around each of them.

If you're a fan of:
- ANGST in your romance
- a no-nonsense female lead
- mythical quests (that don't follow expectations!)
- tortured soft boys (with more angst and some brooding)
- magical creatures and weapons
- fae royalty who don't act even a little bit human

--then this is 100% a book for you to grab immediately!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE THIRD ONE!!!!

I loved book 1 and I was so happy to be back in this universe in book two.

The Summer Queen is the sequel to The Buried and the Bound which follows three teens: Aziza who is in charge of securing the boundary between our world and the fae world and discovered the truth about her parents' death, Leo who can't remember his true love and recently learned that his sister is a changeling and Tristan who can't tell Leo he was the one he forgot and is now bound to Aziza who promised Leo she would keep him safe.

This book takes place mostly in Elphame and goes more into fae court politics as well as trading away favors and making deals. Something Hassan doesn't shy away from is consequences or danger: events from book 1 are still mentioned and referenced in book 1 and Aziza's hand is still injured. All of the seriousness of the book however, is also balanced by humor and there were points where I genuinely laughed out loud.

The other thing I love about Rochelle Hassan's writing and characters is I genuinely believe that our trio are friends and love each other. There is so much that each of them brings to the friendship and that is explored even more in The Summer Queen. The scene that struck me most was Tristan apologizing to Aziza and feeling guilty about being connected but Aziza asserts that they made her feel less lonely. At the same time, you understand why Leo likes Tristan and vice versa and see why Aziza has a soft spot for Leo. All three of these characters are strengths for each other and they are genuinely stronger together.

TLDR: book 2 is amazing, I stan Aziza always

This was such a good read! I was fully sucked into the story right away and I really enjoyed the characters. The journey the author took these characters on was exciting and unique which is something I am really interested in with books now. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

I am obsessed with the world Rochelle’s has created. Being back with Zee, Leo, and Tris honestly felt like coming home. I love them all and their dynamic is just so good. Being in Elphame this time around was definitely fun and made the stakes higher. The courtly intrigue plot was also really great and added to the suspense. I keep waiting for Leo to realize who his true love is and it breaks my heart every chapter he doesn’t. This was even better than book 1 and I CANNOT wait for book 3!