I gave this one a 3.9/5 stars which is a little lower than the first book. “For the Throne” is the sequel to “For the Wolf” and I believe it finishes the duology. This is a YA fantasy with a “good vs evil” theme. This one didn’t feel as much of a fairytale retelling as the first one. If you enjoy third person narratives with multiple points of view in an epic land, then check this out!!
Here are my thoughts while reading:
The prologue and chapter 1 disappointed some because I don’t want to switch the focus on a different couple.
After chapter 2 I’m glad Red has a point of view again, but everything feels so exhausted and heavy. It’s probably meant to, but it feels like a burden to get through the chapter.
Okay I’m a little concerned that Faffe had chapter three because I usually don’t prefer books with 3+ POV.
And how can he say he loves Neve but also admit that he doesn’t truly know her.
After chapter 3, it’s a pretty slow and labored start and I’m having a hard time finding interested other than what I liked about the first book. I love the concept of the Seamstress. It reminds me of my character Surh-Sig the skin scraper. Oooh! And I’m super excited about The Serpent, the Oracle, & the Leviathan. And the Heart Tree.
Still not a huge fan of Solmir tho Hannah Whitten is really trying to show his positive qualities. It sounds like Neve will have the choice to be the Shadow Queen and stay underground in the upside down forest or go back to her sister. I’m worried if the story of both books is the heroine choosing a man over sisterhood. But I also get it… so … I’m not super upset.
When another character of The Weaver was brought in the world building just feels so complex. We already learned all the rules of the woods in the first book, which most are no longer relevant. And now we need to relearn the rules of the underground. So, it’s a lot of work. I think this book could be cut in half for its length and simplified to still get the job done of what I like in a story, but these novels are meant for readers who love the world building.
At the halfway mark, the theme of the distinction between god and mobster is interesting. I like the concept of the Shadowlands but the story is dragging a bit. I feel like it couldn’t been written more crisp and to the point. But that’s also just my style. The conversations lag a bit for me and slows down the pace. I’m not as engaged as in the first book. When the forest speaks, I havent really been a fan of that part. I’m much more interested in Red’s chapters still.
I caught myself skimming a lot of the back half. There was more head hopping too like “Eammon didn’t care about the magic” but it wasn’t chapter in his point of view.
It felt like a lot of repetition of the same feelings and savior complex. So I cant truly rate the quality of the plot since there’s probably some bits and pieces I missed. If I were more patient and settled into it, I’d probably have different feelings. (Chapter 41 then 42 we have more points of view and my brain feels split all over the place.)
So the ending for Red I was satisfied with. Unsure about Nefe… Overall, I’d recommend this duology to YA fantasy readers but wouldn’t buy the second book like I bought “For the Wolf.”
Discussion question: what makes a soul?
Cassie Swindon 