Innocent Queen is the sequel of Forbidden Queen, by R.J. Vickers. I’m grateful to be given an e-arc of this book. This has not affected my review. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST BOOK
In this sequel, queen Kalleah just started her reign after winning the vote from Leoth. Her current task is to win the trust of her people, but the anti-magic group called the Truthbringers is gathering more and more followers. And now, instead of just promoting discrimination against the magic races, they’re also framing Kalleah for murder. So instead of winning her people’s trust, Kalleah has to prove her innocence.
R.J. Vickers has done a fantastic job with Innocent Queen. It was an amazing ride from start to finish, I couldn’t put the book (or in this case, my phone) down. You could see how much Kalleah wanted to do what was right for her people, but she experienced so many setbacks. Thankfully, Kalleah finally received some support from newly introduced characters inside the palace, in contrast to the first book.
Even though I loved the book, I disliked how the plot was solely made of setbacks. Kalleah does something -> Kalleah has to take 2 steps back -> Kalleah does something new -> Kalleah is framed. It’s a constant pattern throughout the book. I would have loved to see Kalleah really accomplish something, but I expect that will happen in the next book: Regenerade Queen.
I highly recommend this series if you’re looking for a short fantasy read with a quick pace. It includes problems such as discrimination, (media) framing and broken trust, so be prepared for the ride!