Queen of Myth and Monsters picks up right after the events of King of Battle and Blood—so, you will need to read King of Battle and Blood first before picking this up! Isolde is adjusting to her new role as Queen while grieving the death of her father and searching for a traitor. Whilst looking for ways to defeat Ravena and the deadly blood mist, Isolde reconnects to her magic and acquires some new abilities. She also attempts to regain some of Yesenia’s memories and ends up learning some of Adrian’s secrets as well, whilst Adrian and Isolde must also prepare for a vampire war.
Queen of Myth and Monsters is a fast-paced and spicy paranormal romance novel suitable for adults, so it would be perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash or A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout, the A Court of Thorns and Roses or Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas, and the Grishaverse books by Leigh Bardugo. This book deals with a ton of themes including appearance versus reality, darkness versus light, change versus tradition, religion, quest for power, love and heartbreak, family, female roles and feminism, fate versus freewill, strength, war and sacrifice, death, deception, secrets and lies, loyalty, betrayal, and reincarnation.
I’ll admit that I was nervous to start Queen of Myth and Monsters; it had been over a year since I had read King of Battle and Blood so I was concerned that I’d forgotten most of the important information revealed at the end of King of Battle and Blood and would therefore be confused when I started Queen of Myth and Monsters. As such, I ended up rereading the last chapter of King of Battle and Blood before starting Queen of Myth and Monsters (and I would recommend this to other readers as well). To avoid this problem, it would have been helpful if St. Clair had provided a quick recap at the beginning of Queen of Myth and Monsters; like a preface or prologue provided at the beginning of some books these days, such as in the Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon.
There was a lot more magical, witchy and paranormal elements (such as shapeshifting) included in this book, which was fantastic. I loved Adrian and Isolde’s passionate chemistry and appreciated that spicy elements were sprinkled throughout the novel. The surprises, secrets, changes, and revelations that Isolde encountered throughout the novel were also immensely enjoyable as it kept the plot interesting and engaging.
The main gripe is the book seemed to end rather abruptly and in a bit of a cliffhanger; I personally would have liked it if there were a few more chapters at the end to better wrap up the story. Again, I will probably have to go back and reread the last chapter of Queen of Myth and Monsters before I read the next book as a lot of important information and discoveries were revealed. The political and religious elements (like people claiming to be saint-like or goddess-blessed) were somewhat of a miss for myself as I found them rather confusing. Lastly, there was a fair number of gory descriptions as well as a brief recount of rape included in this book, which may be off-putting or triggering to some readers.
Overall, even though I had trouble getting into it, Queen of Myth and Monsters was enjoyable and would highly recommend it to fellow paranormal romance readers!
Queen of Myth and Monsters is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The next book in the epic fantasy series by USA Today bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair.
Isolde, newly coronated queen, has finally found a king worthy of her in the vampire Adrian. But their love for each other has cost Isolde her father and her homeland. With two opposing goddesses playing mortals and vampires like chess pieces against one another, Isolde is uncertain who her allies are in the vampire stronghold of Revekka.
Now, as politics in the Red Palace grow more underhanded and a deadly blood mist threatens all of Cordova, Isolde must trust in the bond she’s formed with Adrian, even as she learns troubling information about his complicated past.
