Queen of Cahraman by Lucy Tempest
Fantasy. 390 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
ONE QUEEN. A CAPTIVE KINGDOM. A GAMBLE FOR SALVATION.
In a corrupted Cahraman, Ada is back on the streets, struggling to save her friends and the kingdom from the fallout of her devastating mistake. But it all seems impossible when her enemy is all-powerful and Cyrus no longer trusts her. Her plan to steal back the lamp flings them on a treacherous quest for salvation.
But if she fails, they’re all doomed to this dark fate forever.
My Review:
The conclusion to the Cahraman trilogy! Okay, so as stated in previous reviews, Aladdin isn’t one of my favorite stories, but Tempest handled the story well and I really enjoyed her twists on the tale.
For this book specifically, I thought everything was tied up pretty well. I was a little sad to see that Carpet kind of just faded into nothingness and we don’t know what became of it. But I loved how the simrgh wrapped up and I really loved the themes of reconciliation. I also deeply appreciated how each character was so multifaceted and distinctly not strictly black or white. The climax was kind of instantly over, though, which was a little disappointing. The solution was super easy, too. Then the resolution took like the last ten percent of the book and at a certain point felt like it drug on. But that said, I thought it wrapped up nicely overall and I was satisfied with the ending.
I was not particularly impressed with the romance or the decision-making process from some of the MCs. It was hard to follow and, at times, felt unrealistic. For instance, Cyrus was almost instantly back in love with Ada. Yeah, he had a dramatic scene or two where he pulled away from her and stonewalled to “process” things. And there were truly a few moments and bits of conversation that felt real, like he was trying to cope with the deception. But then there came this scene where she spilled and told him the whole story and it was like zap! Suddenly he was the one shaking her and reassuring her that she’d done everything perfectly right and he wouldn’t shame her so she should let it go and this made him love her even more!! And…while some of his sentiment I agreed with, it was so quick it gave me whiplash.
And, while the romance definitely had its cute moments and I was definitely shipping it, it also had some really cringy moments, too. There was just a lot of extra in the prose and so much…idolizing each other, over the top, flowery, all or nothing stuff. It was almost like watching a Hallmark movie at some points–which, I mean I like Hallmark sometimes, too. It was clean, which is really nice. And there was a lot less of the physical focus in this book, which I really appreciated. Even from the beginning, Cyrus has had some really interesting character pieces, but it’s nice to see Ada focusing a little less on how stunning he is and a little more on who he is.
The plot had some cool points, and the pacing was better than the previous two books. We actually spent a lot of time away from the whole disaster zone, which was kind of odd, but…I mean…it was interesting. There were some bits where I was confused and struggled to follow what was going on. It was a little odd to visualize some sections, too. But at the same time, there would be long, elaborate sections of description that sort of drug on and meant very little in the scheme of things. Then I’d come to a section where I’d wish for a little more clarity on what was visually happening. There were a few trippy transitions that were all magical and definitely a little confusing to read, but those didn’t usually last long. But, I followed most of the world’s rules and adapted to the creatures and legends and stuff pretty easily. I liked the hall of mirrors bit a lot. I thought it was a cool way to give us backstory in an interesting way.
Overall, I enjoyed the trilogy. It isn’t my new favorite, but it was a fun read. And I do plan to finish the series. I like the story a lot, and I liked the characters a lot, too. Tempest threw in some cool twists to the classic and made the story her own. She also wove in some intricate character relationships that were really fun! I can’t say I’m the hugest fan of her writing style and mechanics, but to each their own. Her pacing was a little rocky and the prose was very dramatic at times. I found quite a few typos and some sentence structures that were confusing. But it still wasn’t a bad read and I think worth checking into. She had a creative world and I liked her themes, too. It was a clean, adventurous read. Clean romance. No foul language. Mild violence.
More:
Book 1 in the Fairytales of Folkshore series (aka Book 1 in the Cahraman Trilogy) is Thief of Cahraman (4 Stars)
Book 2 is Prince of Cahraman (4 Stars)
Book 4 (aka Book 1 of the Rosemead Duology) is Beast of Rosemead
Book 5 (aka Book 2 in the Rosemead Duology) is Beauty of Rosemead
Book 6 is Princess of Midnight
I’m still working my way through the series, but it is clear that they should be read in order. You can click the links above to find more info on them and scroll down to find my reviews and ratings on Goodreads.
On GraceBought
If you missed it, check out my thoughts on the previous books below.