Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Whenever wild spirits seek to attack the islands, the queen senses their approach and dispatchers her heirs to repel them. Except when she doesn't. Durst revisits the fascinating world of Renthia with a stand-alone tale set on the island nation introduced in The Queen of Sorrow (2018). Renthian queens are powerful, but all is not well on the island of Belene. The self-interested ruling families have an inexplicable amount of control over the queen. Villagers died in savage spirit attacks when the nobles had the kingdoms' defenders, the heirs, sent to secure another location. And every female with an affinity for spirits lives in fear of exposing her magic: if discovered, she must choose between lifelong service in perpetual silence or submitting to the deadly test to become an heir. On her wedding day, a young woman must use her hidden power when a spirit storm descends on her village. Having revealed herself, she will be forced to make the choice, but which will it be life in silent service or a lethal fight to attain a future she never wanted? Fans will be eager to reenter Renthia and discover another queen.--Lucy Lockley Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Durst explores new lands linked to Renthia in this high-stakes but low-satisfaction standalone linked to her Queens of Renthia series (The Queen of Sorrow). On the island nation of Belene, Mayara is one of the rare women who can command spirits with her mind. Just after Mayara marries her partner and best friend, Kelo, she uses her powers during a spirit attack on her village. For revealing her powers, Mayara is taken by the queen's agents, the Silent Ones, to brave the dangerous trial to become an heir. In a survival scenario that is all too familiar to fans of modern YA, Mayara and her new friends, Palia and Roe, team up to survive an island of murderous spirits. Though Mayara is tested by sporadic spirit encounters, she grows very little. Fans of the series will enjoy this new look at Renthia, but unconvincing characters and dialogue prevent Mayara's fast-paced adventure from having emotional depth. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In the island nation of Belene, the spirits are as wild as they are on the mainland (subject of Durst's "Queens of Renthia" trilogy). Here, too, a queen and her heirs provide protection. Women with powers over the spirits must turn themselves over for testing or be charged with treason. Unfortunately, the risk of death is about the same in both cases. When Mayara is found to have abilities during an attack on her home village on her wedding day, she's given a choice: forsake her past or attempt to survive and become an heir. Mayara chooses the test and discovers that the conditions of training are a matter of literal survival. Making friends with other trainees leads her down a path she would have never chosen herself, for if the Deepest Blue awakes, no one in Belene will survive. -VERDICT This intriguing dive into the powers that attempt to control Renthia yields an action-packed fantasy. [Prepub Alert, 10/1/18.]-Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This follow-up to the Queens of Renthia fantasy trilogy (The Queen of Sorrow, 2018, etc.) shifts to the island nation of Belene, where the vicious nature spirits are mainly aquatic but the human predators seem much the same.Oyster diver Mayara is forced to reveal her power over the spirits on the day of her wedding to her beloved childhood friend Kelo when a violent spirit storm overwhelms her fishing village. That brings her to the attention of the queen, her heirs, and the queen's magically gifted guard, the Silent Ones. Now, Mayara has a choice: give up her family and her voice by joining the Silent Ones, or compete to become one of the queen's heirs by surviving 30 days on the deadly island of Akena, swarming with bloodthirsty nature spirits. Believing Kelo to be dead, Mayara makes the more dangerous choice of the island, where she befriends Roe, another potential heir, and learns that the spirits aren't the only peril on Akena. Meanwhile, Queen Asana has her own troubles. Although she possesses great magical power, enough to keep the leviathans of the ocean depths asleep, she lacks the political power to rule the people of Belene; that lies in the hands of the powerful noble families who hold her parents and daughter hostage. Can the current system be overthrown, or are there some traditions it's too hazardous to lose? It's delightful to re-encounter the sociopath Garnah, the brutally honest alchemist and poisoner who is also the mother-in-law of Queen Daleina of Aratay. Now serving as Queen Asana's adviser, she is the only character to carry over from the previous books, but unfortunately, the basic plot from the previous books carried over, too.Although changing venue from deep forest to the coast breathes a certain amount of fresh life into the series, this is now the fourth book involving a battle for rule and a race to the coronation grove; it would be nice if future books explored other conflicts and possibilities in Renthia. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
