The Queen’s Sister by Faye Love is part of the Epsian Chronicle series. This is a fantasy, heroin, adventure chivalric romance, fiction.
This is the story of a soon-to-be warrior queen, Leslidia, who is abruptly transported to another land that is similar to her home, but, at the same time, not. While both worlds are mystical, she’s now surrounded by strangers who are similar to the people in her world but with some differences in their overall looks as well as their customs and culture. All Leslidia wants is to find her way through the stars and back home to claim her throne. However, to do that, she will have to survive this new land with all its unique creatures, make friends, build new alliances, face the cultural differences, and go on a quest to save this land and her friends. Easy enough right? Leslidia understands her destiny but is also the author of her own story. Destiny be damned.
This story reminds me of Lord Of the Rings and Avatar (the one with the big smurfs, which is not to be confused with Avatar: The Last Airbender). You are transported to a new world (literally) with new flora and fauna. We have Elves (which, by way, all books should have—and I want the pointy ears), we have gods who are silent and goddesses who are present and vocal, humans (we could always use less of them), dwarves, and more. There is magic, and what I find interesting about the magic is that it is different to her world’s but also similar. And, our warrior queen has magic in both worlds.
Our main character is Leslidia (the warrior queen) and the only memory she can recall at the time of her awakening is that she had an argument with her sister, the high Wizardess, about her husband. Her sister sent her to a completely new world or planet (hard to tell) and she must start her adventure here to make her way home. In her homeland, she was to be crowned queen. I suspect there is more to the story of her sister, but we do not have the answers in this book as her adventure is about to begin. She has been groomed since birth to be a warrior queen, and a warrior she is.
Our other main character, Britta, is an elven princess who is very innocent. She is one you cannot help but cheer her own. She has high morals and strives to live by that code even though her environment makes it hard for her to express herself. We meet Britta as she is running away from her home where is the princess. Princess Britta wants to live her life in her own terms. Her world is a patriarchal one where a spouse is chosen for her. Little did she know that on the same fateful day she ran away she would meet the woman who would change the course of her life forever.
The magic in this world goes from subtle to incredible. The creatures in the world sound nightmarish and wonderful all at the same time. I will not go into details about the spiders because even my nightmares did not conjure what was in this book.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I loved the storytelling. The world-building and the overall characters. I was drawn into the story from the get-go.
Cons And Heads Up
This book does not have anything monogamous. I struggle with that a lot, and, in fact, it infuriates me. I am glad I stuck with it, however. If it does not bother you and you can look past that, this is a very well-told story. It could use some edits on some grammatical things, but it does not take away from the overall story at all.
The Conclusion
If you are looking for a sapphic book that gives you the vibes of Lord Of the Rings meets time-travelling warrior, look no further, you have it.
Excerpt from The Queen’s Sister by Faye Love
With my eyes closed against the brightness, yet again, I tried to remember the events that led me here. But something inside of me must be flawed, because the last I remember I was arguing with my sister, the high Wizardess herself. I was calling her husband, Snake…only because it’s the truth, a gold digging, power hungry, manipulating, backstabbing, slimy, smelly, untrustworthy, crabshit-eating Portel! I recall he had walked into the room. And with my sword in my hand, I was determined to end his filthy, undeserving life. But before I could remove his serpent’s head, Tatrika ran between us, trying to convince me to think of the consequences of my actions. But I refused to listen, as he continued to threaten me and insult my power as the next Queen. I pushed past my sister, ready to kill him, but then she threw some magic powder at me.
I vaguely remember the sensation of being lifted and moving quickly, a blaze of colors moving past me. Then darkness. Well, that is the last I can remember until this pounding headache. I looked at the sun and realized that it doesn’t look right. The color is off, and the heat coming off of it is like the peak of summer. But it’s not summer, the air was starting to cool,the waters chilling. At least it was…but not anymore? Damn, what did she do to me?
Feeling a cold wetness on my pantlegs I looked down, great, nice to know that along with being Goddess knows where, my boat is leaking. Steam rose off my pants as the water sizzled against my heat. Of all the unholy, ship destroying, boiling water spewing sea serpents, I sighed deeply. Better get moving out of this sinking boat. I stood up and came close to passing out as black dots filled my vision. The air felt heavy, and thick. The sun too hot on my skin. Trying to stand up, I stumbled out of the boat and onto the beach, letting myself fall to my knees. Slow deep breaths kept me from throwing up. Instead, I tried to focus on something else. Anything other than my trembling stomach and aching head.
Sand! Yes, I’ll focus on the sand, it was soft like the shore of my island. It’s warmth comforting in my confusion… But something about it was off… The colors were all wrong. Here the sand was creamy, a bright almost white against my tanned skin. My ring was pulsing oddly against the sand, flames dancing within the black gem. Red, yellow, and gold shined within the specks as fire illuminated it. It’s depths I’ve known since I was a child.
But it all feels strange. This sand…how beautiful… I’ve never seen sand so white… After several long breaths, the nausea started subsiding. I have never felt sick on water before, it’s as alarming as it is foreign. My life is virtually lived on the water. Sustained and continuous. A Terraquan who gets seasick is hardly a Terraquan at all.
Something feels very wrong here… The familiar feels…strange.
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Series: The Epsian Chronicles
The Queen’s Sister
The Encyclopedia of Epsis: The Elves
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 979-8832916026
Publisher: Alter Egos Publishing
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Note: No money was exchanged for this review.
