Review – Queen of Ruin (Grace and Fury, Book 2) by Tracy Bangheart (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-0316471459
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd volume in the Grace and Fury series
Source: Birthday Gift!
Rating: 3/5 stars

“When the new, brutal Superior banishes Nomi from Bellaqua, she finds herself powerless and headed towards her all-but-certain death. Her only hope is to find her sister, Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi arrives, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite, submissive Serina–is its leader.

Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom, issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get rid of the new Superior, and only Nomi knows how.

Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build something better in its place.”

This is the second book in the Grace and Fury series and was a bit disappointing to me. The first book left us on a huge cliffhanger and this one picks up where that one left off. I just felt like not much happened and the story was very simple.

Nomi is being sent to the very island her sister was sent to for imprisonment. Meanwhile Serina and her fellow captives have staged a coup and taken over the island that was once their prison. They both need to decide what their path forward is. Will they seek freedom in a different land? Or will they seek to fix the evils in Bellaqua.

This book moved really slow for me and was very predictable. The characters spend a lot of time prepping to do something on the island and I thought this should have moved faster. Very little time is spent in revolution and the “revolution” portion of the book felt rushed.

Overall this was okay but not as good as the first book. It does wrap up the story nicely. However, the story could have had better pacing …the first part is really slow and then the very end feels rushed. I am glad I finished the series but felt kind of “eh” at the end of it all.