Thorn Queen book review

This is the second book by Richelle Mead that I’ve read, and as I liked the first one so much, my expectations were high. I’m glad to report that I wasn’t disappointed.

Though Thorn Queen is part of a different series to Succubus Heat, the female lead character is similar in personality. Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire – basically, she gets paid to get rid of evil supernatural creatures and send them back where they belong. She’s strong, sassy and sexy. And she’s also in charge of her own kingdom.

Quite by mistake, Eugenie managed to inherit a kingdom during her last battle, in which she killed a king. Now Eugenie is Queen of Thorn Land. To begin, she is reluctant to rule her land, but soon she realises that the people and the land itself need to be around, or everything will wilt and die. People are already struggling with the changes since their previous king, Aeson, was murdered.

Eugenie’s main problem is the fact she doesn’t feel like she belongs in the Otherworld at all. She’s half human, half gentry, and daughter to the Storm King. She wields a lot of power, much of which she can’t control. There’s also a worrying prophecy hanging over Eugenie’s head, and she has no intention of letting it come true.

Eugenie really does have a lot on her plate. Her day job is ticking along nicely, but given the Thorn Land is in danger without her, Eugenie’s compassion leads her to spend more and more time there, much to the disgust of her human friends, and her boyfriend, Kiyo. She’s torn between the life she’s lived and loved, and a life she doesn’t really want, but feels obligated to live. And to top it all off, someone is kidnapping gentry girls from the Otherworld – and both sides of Eugenie’s character care about it.

Eugenie’s task is not an easy one; find the missing girls, keep up with her day job and nurture the Thorn Land. Not an easy task for one woman.

However, there are guys queuing up to help out the beautiful Eugenie. But she only has eyes for Kiyo. But lately, he hasn’t been so understanding. Eugenie’s ex Dorian, however, has. They become closer and soon Eugenie is torn between two men as well as two lives. Something has got to give…

…and it does, causing all kinds of chaos in the human world and the Otherworld. It’s up to Eugenie, her friends, family and subjects to restore order before evil prevails. Will they succeed? Only one way to find out…

Thorn Queen is a fabulous book. I don’t feel the character was quite as likeable as the one in Succubus Heat, but she was still a kick-ass strong woman. I got into the book immediately and couldn’t wait to pick it up again every time life got in the way of my reading habits. Recommended to ‘urban fantasy’ fans.

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Thorn Queen is out now.