We see the hero or hero’s companions being taken into captivity in books like Throne of Glass and Red Queen. Because if you recall, he gave himself to Isbeth to allow Poppy to go free at the end of The Crown of Gilded Bones. The bulk of this book, like say 75-80% of it is about getting Casteel back. More on that later in the spoiler section. What is The War of Two Queens About?Ĭontrary to what the name implies, there isn’t much of a war going on. And in fact, I still like A Shadow in the Ember far better than any of the four main novels in the primary series. The other reason was that A Shadow in the Ember was just so amazing that The War of Two Queens just wasn’t doing it for me.

It wouldn’t have been hard for Poppy to recount the details of the end of TCOGB to a general and feel totally natural. Shortly after the start of the book, the rest of the Atlantian forces arrive to start their siege of Solis. I felt this would have been very helpful. This means that Poppy doesn’t give you any sort of recap. It picks up a few weeks after the end of The Crown of Gilded Bones, but hits the ground running as if no time had passed. Okay perhaps you don’t “need” to, but you will most definitely “want” to because there are a lot of people, places, and details that will just make so much more sense in The War of Two Queens if you read A Shadow in the Ember first.īut as I mentioned I struggled to get into it at first and that’s for a couple of reasons.įirst, it’s been a year since I read The Crown of Gilded Bones and I forgot pretty much every character except Poppy, Casteel, and Isbeth.Īnd The War of Two Queens gives you absolutely no help in remembering. The War of Two Queens Review – Spoiler FreeĪll right, so I was fresh off of A Shadow in the Ember when I started reading The War of Two Queens, and I struggled to get into it at first.īefore I tell you why, let me answer the question: “Do I need to read A Shadow in the Ember before The War of Two Queens?”

The war of two queens blood and ash