The Girl of Fire and Thorns meets The Queen of the Tearling in this thrilling fantasy standalone about one girl’s unexpected rise to power.
Freya was never meant be queen. Twenty third in line to the throne, she never dreamed of a life in the palace, and would much rather research in her laboratory than participate in the intrigues of court. However, when an extravagant banquet turns deadly and the king and those closest to him are poisoned, Freya suddenly finds herself on the throne.
Freya may have escaped the massacre, but she is far from safe. The nobles don’t respect her, her councillors want to control her, and with the mystery of who killed the king still unsolved, Freya knows that a single mistake could cost her the kingdom – and her life.
Freya is determined to survive, and that means uncovering the murderers herself. Until then, she can’t trust anyone. Not her advisors. Not the king’s dashing and enigmatic illegitimate son. Not even her own father, who always wanted the best for her, but also wanted more power for himself.
As Freya’s enemies close in and her loyalties are tested, she must decide if she is ready to rule and, if so, how far she is willing to go to keep the crown.
I think I first heard about Long May She Reign on epic reads and then Hailey in Bookland (YouTube) had just finished this book and said it was good. I was going on a road trip to Boston and what better thing than to have an audiobook, however things didn't go as plan and I had only listen to the audio partial. Since then I have manage to finish the book and I really enjoyed it.
Long May She Reign is a historical fantasy that is a standalone, there are no supernatural creatures and there is no magic. I really didn't think historical fiction was my type of thing then the Winner's trilogy happened and I decided to give it more historical fiction a try and I am glad I did.
There is a massacre and almost everyone at court is killed and now Freya who was twenty-third in line is now queen. It's up to her to protect her people, find the killer, suss out her enemies, gain the trust of the people and become the queen everyone needs her to be.
Freya is a delight and so different from normal characters in historical fantasies. She is a scientist and science was hardly study in this world so that makes her wildly unique alone but then there are other qualities. Freya is smart, babbles and has anxiety which makes her not feel comfortable at court even though she is a noble. She isn't as wasteful as the other people at court she doesn't believe in the extravagant of it all. Freya is kind, awkward, smart and determined. Freya does things her own way, uses her brain and follows her own moral code.
Among other that escaped the killings is William Fitzroy the kings illegitimate son, Naomi Freya's best friend and Madeleine who was beloved in the old court. I loved these characters so much and there parts were so unexpected. Fitzroy character turned out to be a total suprised, you would think because of who he was and the fact that he was a court his personality would be totally different and I did find him and Freya adorable.
Naomi is the best friend but because of circumstances she really wasn't shown to much in this world because Freya had to deal with problems on a whole new level and Naomi had to work through her own stuff. However I still love the fact that she wasn't the loud friend or the friend who didn't know anything and asked a lot of questions, no Naomi's character was actually very supportive and help Freya with dealing with things such as her anxiety and helps her work through problems.
Madeleine was there to help show that assumptions can be wrong. Not everyone in court is wasteful or mean or rude, she shows a different side. Madeleine is an artist and see things differently, she treats Freya kindly and believes that she can be queen.
Long May She Reign had the feeling of a whodunit to me, I was constantly trying to figure out who was the murder and I love that I was putting together the pieces of the story right along with Freya. This is a character based book and the characters were written very well, all complex and well rounded. Long May She Reign kept my interest with it's drama and mystery. Will Freya stop her enemies, are the Forgotten really behind her and who is the murderer. You will have to read it to find out.
