I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The Witch Queen takes up a few years after we left Ayleth as Queen in The Crimson Crown. This is the conclusion of the duology by Heather Walter, and there is enough continuity that I strongly recommend reading The Crimson Crown first. If you haven’t, please note there may be spoilers for The Crimson Crown in this review.
Queen Ayleth has been a busy woman using the vast power she gained by restoring the Bloodstones and breaking the Veil created by ancient witches in the realm, releasing the most evil magics. She and her best friend and advisor, Joan, have made both welcome and unwelcome changes throughout the realm. Ayleth also continues her vengeful agenda of rooting out and murdering witches, including tracking down her former lover, until a surprise visitor arrives at court. Early in her reign, Ayleth sent her stepdaughter, Blodwyn, heir to the throne, off to a distant aunt’s home to keep her safe. Blodwyn, now sixteen, and her aunt Margaret have a plan to take the throne back, kicking off a series of events that have all of them playing a tricky game of truth, lies, secrets, and betrayals that the Queendom and their lives depend on winning.
Walter writes some fabulously twisty fantasy plotlines. There were moments as a reader where I said “REALLY?” out loud as the poor characters hit another terrible roadblock or issue. Some of them were wonderfully unpredictable, which I loved. One or two twists I found distracting and unlikely given the characters’ intelligence and distrust of pretty much everyone. Walter does a wonderful job fully developing the backstories and inner lives of the women in her stories and leaves the male characters as the side placeholders, which is interesting. As character development progressed, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationships between Ayleth and Blodwyn and Ayleth and Margaret.
I had the hardest time with the romantasy relationship in this duology. It just never really gelled for me, not because it’s sapphic but because I personally have issues with two tropes used here: first, the idea that a whole tangle could be undone with one simple moment of truth but no one will just be freaking honest. That is entirely my own issue, and it’s the same reason I didn’t like While You Were Sleeping and other romcoms. If that sort of drama is your jam, you’ll love it because Walter writes the angst so well it’s frustrating. Second, I have strong “nope, there’s no coming back from crossing that” lines, and it irritates me when romantic relationships, even in fiction, truly abuse each other and it’s all fine later. That said, the growth of both characters was fun to watch over both books, and the resolution of all the many subplots was totally satisfying.
Ultimately, I enjoyed both books in the duology. I gave this one 4.5 on Goodreads, and I recommend The Witch Queen for those who like a good enemies to lovers romantasy and fairy tale retellings, particularly if you want a fascinating ending to the wicked witch’s side of the tale.
