Review: The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: January 5th, 2016
Purchase: Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

My Thoughts:
This year is definitely going to be the year that Fantasy takes over our shelves and brains and The Impostor Queen is setting the bar high my friend!  This expertly crafted world is truly amazing and will grab even the fantasy fearfull.

This book from the get go is intense.  The very first chapter had me on the edge of my seat and craving more and with fantasy novels this is a really hard thing to do.  Worlds have to be created, characters have to be built, and a whole epic storyline has to be crafted.  Sarah Fine manages to do these huge tasks in a matter of a few simple chapters.  Don't get me wrong I promise you won't know everything in a few chapters, this world continues to build and build and just when you think you know everything BAM! things get crazy!

This is honestly one of the most imaginative worlds I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I think the addition of the magic and what it symbolized was really intriguing and I liked how the author used it throughout this story.  The part I loved the best though was the ending and how everything came to be.  I cant go into specifics, but I will say WOW!  I never saw that coming and I can't wait to see how it all plays out!

What truly surprised me though was how connected I felt to the characters.  I loved Elli!  She was fierce and determined to serve her people no matter what, even in the face of pain.  I really appreciated how the author let Elli grow up and let her make decisions not based on her heart.  She knew what she was born to do and she did just that even if it meant heartache.  This to me is a true Fantasy character.  I enjoyed the secondary characters as well.  Oskar and Sig were fun even though a bit moody and I loved Ramio!  His character is the one I am looking most forward to because he has answers but also because I think there is something else to him and I smell a little sinisternish coming from him!

The only thing I wasn't fond of was the overall romance.  If it had just been Elli and Oskar I would have been okay, but the story starts off a different way and I wish the author would have stayed true to her path.  I liked that this book was different and I would have loved to have seen where things could have gone, but the author chose a different path.  I am not sure why she did and I know I probably will never know but it makes me sad.  The romance between Oskar and Elli was really well written though and I appreciated the slow build up so I suppose I can live with the way things are.  I am curious if the author will revisit these issues in later installments though.

4 snowflakes