Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Gollancz

Released: 25th of September 2018 

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. When they were angry, mirrors shattered, and when they were happy, flowers bloomed. It was a magic they cherished - until the day a terrible accident took Essie's life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax - the heir to Firgaard's throne - was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa's people had suffered. Roa made him a deal: she'd give him the army he needed if he made her queen.

Together with Dax and his sister, Asha, Roa and her people waged war and deposed a tyrant. But now Asha is on the run, hiding from the price on her head. And Roa is an outlander queen, far from home and married to her enemy. Worst of all: Dax's promises go unfulfilled. Roa's people continue to suffer.

Then a chance to right every wrong arises - an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king.

What I Have to Say 

This series is truly something special. Every word of the writing is beautiful and lyrical and just perfect. Reading the Caged Queen was like sinking back into a world full of stories and dragons and the spirits of sisters trapped in the form of birds. 

As with The Last Namsara, there were parts of the book set into the present interspersed with small snippets of stories and flashbacks. The stories especially in both books are just the perfect way to share all sorts of things about the culture of the world. It was great to learn more about the outlander culture and how it differed from the culture in Firgaard. 

I loved Roa a lot. She seemed to flounder a lot more than Asha and she didn't make the best choices, but there was still something about her that I really liked. The way she clung to her sister and would do anything to save her was a motivation that I could really understand, so although a lot of her actions were ones I disagreed with, it was easy to see why she did what she did and like her anyway. 

There was one character in particular that really intrigued me by the end. I won't say who because of spoilers, but I would love to see more of this character in the future. There's a lot of things hidden away and a lot of secrets revealed at the end and I hope we see more of this character in the future. 

My thanks go to Gollancz for providing me with this copy for review.