Queen of Chaos
By Kat Ross
The Fourth Element #4Published on January 18, 2017
Fantasy, Young Adult, Diverse
308 pages
This book was provided to me from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.
Persepolae has fallen.
Karnopolis has burned.
As the dark forces of the Undead sweep across what remains of the empire, Nazafareen must obey the summons of a demon queen to save Darius’s father, Victor. Burdened with a power she doesn’t understand and can barely control, Nazafareen embarks on a perilous journey through the shadowlands to the House-Behind-the-Veil. But what awaits her there is worse than she ever imagined…
A thousand leagues away, Tijah leads a group of children on a desperate mission to rescue the prisoners at Gorgon-e Gaz, the stronghold where the oldest daēvas are kept. To get there, they must cross the Great Salt Plain, a parched ruin occupied by the armies of the night. A chance encounter adds a ghost from the past to their number. But will they arrive in time to avert a massacre?
And in the House-Behind-the-Veil, Balthazar and the Prophet Zarathustra discover that they have more in common than meets the eye. But is it enough to redeem the necromancer’s bloodstained soul and thwart his mistress’s plans?
As a final showdown looms with Queen Neblis, the truth of the daēvas’ origins is revealed and three worlds collide in this thrilling conclusion to the Fourth Element series.
Luckily for you, the first book in the series, The Midnight Sea, is currently FREE on Amazon. Now you can start your addiction to this series at no cost!
Review
I am notorious for not finishing series. Despite my fangirl nature, I never have the guts and emotional stability to finish a journey with characters. Most of the time, I view the final book in a series as a funeral for the story and its beloved characters. The dread overwhelms my excitement and creates a paradox where I want to finish a series, but I am afraid of leaving a world behind.
Thankfully, I felt the opposite going into Queen of Chaos. Ross expertly finished Blood of the Prophet with a cliffhanger that even a person who loathes endings could not resist. Of course, I was devastated because the end one of my favorite series was nigh, but my heart was comforted by the insurance that Ross would not let me down.
And let me tell you, she did not disappoint. There are five-star books, and then there are five-star books. The books that leave you without breath, holding back tears and smiling at the same time. Books that carry you so far into its world that you take a piece of it when you leave. There are five-star books and there are books that make you feel something. Queen of Chaos is both to me. Books this heart-wrenching and phenomenal remind why I continue to read. Even though I can read a dozen one-star books in a row, the hope of reading another book like Queen of Chaos keeps me going. The mixture of pure satisfaction, hope, and longing that I felt after finishing this book cemented it as not only a five-star book but a five-star series.
This series is not something that you can read and forget. I will always have a piece of Nazafareen's stubbornness and unfailing heroism with me. I will remember Darius and his struggle to love himself and others. I will keep Tijah's feistiness and Myrri's quiet strength.
Speaking of characters, none of Ross's creations could really be called flat, in my opinion. Even stock characters without a lot of screentime are thoroughly explored. My emotions were twisted and manipulated so that I never knew who was the real antagonist. I was kept on my toes throughout the storyline. Better yet, there was no useless filler to take up words. Ross made every character, every chapter, and every word count. In a mere 300 pages, my heart was shattered, tramped on, and put back together with the power of this world.
All of the gushing aside, this is a series that all fantasy fans can enjoy. The world is unique with a brilliant magic system that I have never seen before. I felt as if I was plucked from my mundane suburban home and dropped in an exciting adventure in the deserts of magical Persia.
One of my favorite parts of this series is the shift in perspectives. Every character gets their own voice, and I was interested in pretty much all of them equally. Even though I have a little bit more of a tender spot for Darius and Nazafareen, all of the characters' stories spoke to me in different ways. Queen of Chaos gives readers the unique experience to see a story from every single perspective, which is not seen in every novel.
Anyone looking for a unique and mind-blowing fantasy novel should give this series a shot. The action-packed plot is perfectly accentuated with complex perspectives, cultivated diversity, and a healthy dose of romance. Ross's series has earned a coveted spot on my shelf alongside the rest of my favorite series.
About the Author
Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.
Author Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Giveaway
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Have you started this series yet? If not, what is holding you back? Are you a fan of alternate history and/or fantasy? What was the last book that really made you feel something?
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