Book Review: The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Series: Yes- Book #2 in the Iskari series.
Cover: Love the cover of this book too! I have the series on my shelf and I cannot stop looking at them all. I just love their design so much.
Rating: 4/5 I enjoyed this book, but not as much as The Last Namsara. I still think Ciccarelli has a beautiful writing style, but the story wasn't as spicy as the first book. That being said, I can't wait to read the third book!




Previous Reviews: The Last Namsara

Review: How's everyone's holiday season so far? I'm back with another review of another Ciccarelli work. As usual, the first part will be spoiler free and second part will be me talking about more spoilery tid bits. I gave this book a 4/5 because the book was great but it was lacking something for my taste. Ciccarelli has a beautiful way with words, so if you want to be swept away again, take a step into the world of Iskari!

Unlike the first book, this book focuses on Roa, the scrublander queen that has supposedly tricked the king into marrying her. Roa faces many problems from her overly flirtatious husband, her sister being in a hawk's body, a kingdom that despises her, and much more. Roa is then given an opportunity to get her sister back, but she will need to kill Dax, the king of Firgaard. Will she be able to make many sacrifices in order to save her sister?

Unlike the first book, the second book focuses not on stories, but the past and present. We get shifts between the past of Roa, Essie, and Dax as children in the scrublands with the present day of Roa and Dax as king and queen. As usual, Ciccarelli is ties the two themes of the memories with the present situation beautifully. Although I do like the stories more, I'm glad I was able to learn more about every character. I feel as if the first book was much more action packed than this book. This book was more politics.

As for the characters in this book, we still have Dax and Safire mentioned mostly from the first book. Asha and Torwin are mentioned briefly in this book but they aren't as important as they were in the previous book. We learn a lot more about Roa, Essie and Dax in this book. We get to see the history of Firgaard and the scrublands through the eyes of Roa. Roa is definitely a badass character, but I didn't like her as much as Asha. Roa complained a bit too much for my liking, but I understand her frustration.

What I loved the most about The Caged Queen is getting to know more of Dax and Roa. The more I know and understand a character, the more I connect to them. I really enjoy how Ciccarelli chooses a new character to write the viewpoint in for each book. It gives readers different perspectives of the events that are happening. That being said, I can't wait to read the next book because my baby Safire is in it <3 

Something that I did not enjoy about this book is how whiny Roa is. Her favorite line is "You're the king Dax, you can do what ever you want." I get it, but actions have consequences. Although changing laws can be beneficial for everyone, you can't just change it all in one instant. That creates complete chaos. To be fair, Dax and Roa are both young adults so their sense of judgement is probably not the best. 

Overall, I highly recommend readers to pick of this book and continue the Iskari series. I can't wait to read The Sky Weaver next! Safire has been one of my favorite characters and I can't wait to see what adventure she'll have. Although not as action packed or as many dragons, The Caged Queen was still a great dramatic read. The Sky Weaver I am coming for you next!

!!!!!!!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

From here on out, I'll be talking about some spoilery points in the book. Don't venture beyond this point if you haven't read the book. If you're okay with spoilers, you do you my friend. 

First, all I gotta say is that I TRUSTED MY BOY DAX ALL ALONG!!! I knew he wouldn't be cheating on Roa. I just knew it! I see that Ciccarelli likes twists 3/4 ths through the book. I'm so glad that everything tied nicely together. Although I am not a huge fan of Roa. She's just okay.

Also, I am no sold on Roa and Dax's relationship. It seemed out of no where for me. I understand that she liked him when she was 12, but throughout the book, all she talked about was how she was going to KILL Dax and then at the end she says she loves Dax. That is a big 180.

Also, Theo is such a hypocrite asshole. He says you can't trust draksors and then he goes and tells a draksor EVERYTHING. Seriously dude, you're an idiot. He is even a bigger dick for bullying people too. I do have to agree with him that Roa ditching him last minute before their wedding was a bit harsh, but she did it for a greater good!

Something that shocked me was when we found out that Dax wasn't stupid after all. DUDE. He is a genius. The previous king unknowingly raise two super children. They're both smart and strong in combat. I'm sure Dax is still dyslexic, but he isn't dumb after all.

I wished we got to know Jas and Lirabel's story a bit more, but that was just a minor detail. Part of me hoped that there was some way for Essie to return to us, but alas that was not a possibility. I do feel for Roa. It must really suck to lose your sister, and even worse a twin sister. Then you marry the guy that caused her death. That is rough....

Favorite Line: 

"Do you believe them?" she asked, needing to know. "Do you think I'm using Essie to send messages to Theo?"

Dax's mouth twisted as if he'd just bitten into something sour.

"Of course not," he said. And then, more softly: "Essie would never betray me like that."

Top 3 Favorite Characters

Dax - Omg... I just love this character more and more as I get to know him. He played the long game and totally won on top of that. I also love how loyal he is to his kingdom and to Roa even though she back stabbed him.

Safire - I know she's a minor character in this book, but I love her. I'm so so so excited that the next book will be about her. My baby is getting the spotlight!!!

Roa - Part of me didn't want to include Roa, but I didn't have a great selection of characters to pick from in the first place. I do love her loyalty to her cause and her love to her family, but I just didn't like how she was throwing everything away. At first, I understood it, but after she saw Dax follow through with his words, she should have changed her mind. Instead she went through with everything.

Welp, that is the end for this review. I hope you all had an amazing holiday season so far! My next post probably won't be up until next year *ba dum tss*. Until then, I'll be reading The Sky Weaver by Kristen Ciccarelli. I still have two more books I need to write reviews on so I'll post them as soon as they're done! Love you all <3