The Queen of Attolia

Series: The Queen's Thief #2

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

Genre: YA Fantasy, Adventure

Publication date: April 26, 2000

Audiobook Format

Narrator: Steve West

Book Description: Revenge

When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes's Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered... she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.

...but

Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.

…at what price?

When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph—and his greatest loss—comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago...

Thoughts:

Reading the whole series back to back seems to be the perfect plan. The first book was good but this one is like having found the perfect balance, you already care for the characters and the world but you cement your love here.

This is a story told in 3rd person from Eugenides POV with a good balance between character and plot. Eugenides POV gives us the bigger picture to understand the world and see the political relationships between Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. We are able to see and understand the workings of all major players not only the Queens and King but also of the Magus and other of our key characters. At the same time, I felt like we also got to know Eugenides far better than in The Thief, and I loved him all the more in this second installment. He's such an imperfect character, he's flawed, he's brave without being ridiculously self-sacrificing, he's a little devil and yet you can't do anything but be on his side. Whatever happens to him in the next book has suddenly become very important. Turner doesn't waste characters and her use of 3rd person in this novel lets us see the real queen behind that stone mask of cruelty.

We do have a bit more Romance thrown into this story and the best part it did not make me cringe. It does become more relevant to the plotline but in a way that makes sense and is not just characters lusting after one another in the most inopportune moments of the story. It does catch you off guard, but I loved it! It's my perfect example of enemies to lovers and the romance in itself has very little presence on the page.

Let's dive a bit more into what actually happens plotwise:

It starts with the Queen of Attolia's guard capturing Eugenides. They want revenge after what the Thief has done and mainly the Queen wants to use this to hurt the Queen of Eddis, in the end, Gen's punishment will be a political move. But she is cruel and wants to break the Queen's Thief in a way that will last, his punishment while it is not execution, is designed to break his spirit. This is one of those times when several congratulations should be sent over to whoever designs the book covers.

Queen of Eddis, enraged by her Thief's plight, embarks on a war with Attolia, and Sounis starts his attack on both neighboring countries in an attempt to unite the territory against the outside threat of Mede. It's a political mess and everyone is trying to subdue their emotions to try to see the situation with a clear head but it's difficult and being sovereign does not make them perfect, they want to wage war in an act of revenge whatever the cost of their people. What follows is a complex story of politics, diplomacy, military strategies, and intrigue. If you love court intrigue, heavy conflicts - more behind-the-scenes conniving and pulling strings than actual battles, complicated stories full of clever maneuvers and characters then this is for you.

I am the type of person who gets into the book and this was done very well. You feel the whole range of emotions as they go through their journey.

This is the type of series I can totally reread wholeheartedly and love every second of it even more than the first time. I did listen to this on audio but I am going to be making it a priority to buy the whole series and reread them at some point next year.

I gave this

This was used for the challenge of:

• Continue Series started a long while ago. The first book I read in 2018, I had mostly forgotten everything that happens so I am picking it up and actually trying to finish it this time.

Warning: We have mentions of mutilation, depression, issues of accepting self-image, and negative views of self due to a disability. As well as mention of PTSD after torture.

For a YA story, it does have grim turns but it is not very graphic.