Review by Booklist Review
Kozloff's fourth and final Nine Realms novel (after A Broken Queen, 2020) begins with Cerulia infiltrating her own palace with the help of human and animal allies, revealing her identity to the shocked court, declaring her Talent, and reclaiming her throne from the usurper Matwyck. In the ensuing hubbub, Matwyck escapes; other traitors are imprisoned and readied for trial, but Cerulia knows some must be biding their time to evade justice. While there's an exciting late-stage Oro invasion by Pellish ship, for the most part Queen Cerulia contends with more subtle political and social dangers: appointing new advisors, reassuring suspicious commoners, meeting with foreign dignitaries, and finding a husband. Overall, she must learn to feel and act like a queen after spending so much time under assumed identities. This leads to some slow chapters, as Cerulia makes fashion choices and plans fêtes, and some humorous scenes, as those who knew her before react inappropriately to her true identity, but on the whole Kozloff focuses on what's important, including Cerulia's gratifying reunion with Thalen and their sweet courtship. Readers who have kept up with this series will find this a happy, satisfying end.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Cerúlia takes back her throne, but her troubles are just beginning in Kozloff's (A Broken Queen, 2020, etc.) fourth and final Four Realms novel. It only takes five chapters for Cerúlia to successfully overthrow Matwyck and take her throne. At first it feels a bit pat for a four-book series to resolve its main plotline so early in its final volume, but it turns out there's more to successfully ruling a kingdom than putting a crown on your head. Queen Cerúlia has to root out the network of people who supported Matwyck's coup; she must discern which people genuinely wish to serve her and which are liars waiting to end her reign before it gets going. What's more, she must address political issues like the growing resentment among the common people toward the aristocracy and deal with thorny issues of international diplomacy. All the while, she has to figure out how to finally be herself when she was forced to spend almost her entire life pretending she was not the rightful queen. Kozloff has great instincts when it comes to pacing, and the novel flies by with a good mix of action sequences and emotional, character-developing beats. Her villains are never one-note, and her heroes are complicated and fallible. Still, it all starts to feel a little paint-by-number. It's not that there are never any consequences or losses, but eventually it feels a bit too certain that Cerúlia will get it right and things will go her way. Even so, the series ender is just as much fun as the rest of the books. An enjoyable, worthwhile end to an immersive series. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
