Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: The Queen of Ieflaria

SERIES: Tales of Inthyia #1

AUTHOR: Effie Calvin

PUBLISHER: NineStar Press

LENGTH: 222 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 19, 2018

BLURB:

Princess Esofi of Rhodia and Crown Prince Albion of Ieflaria have been betrothed since they were children but have never met. At age seventeen, Esofi’s journey to Ieflaria is not for the wedding she always expected but instead to offer condolences on the death of her would-be husband.

But Ieflaria is desperately in need of help from Rhodia for their dragon problem, so Esofi is offered a new betrothal to Prince Albion’s younger sister, the new Crown Princess Adale. But Adale has no plans of taking the throne, leaving Esofi with more to battle than fire-breathing beasts.

REVIEW:

This book takes place in a pretty, glossy fantasy setting while deftly tackling themes of class differences, arranged marriage drama, and discovering magic for the first time. It also happens to be a book where I cared a lot more for the characters and their human drama than I did for the fantasy elements.

I enjoyed the hidden depths within the characters and sub-plots. The characters are mainly female (main romantic duo, queens/mothers, ladies-in-waiting, scheming cousins) and they all have their own unique personalities, temperaments, and motivations. Right when we start to believe that pretty, feminine Esofi is our typical damsel in distress, she throws us for a loop in the best way. And Adale is a fresh, well-written take on a spoiled upper-class child who doesn’t understand how lucky she really has it, but she still has some very believable and valid concerns about her place in royal society.

While this is a familiar high fantasy setting full of courtly intrigue, dragon-filled skies, and ancient gods, there’s plenty of unique twists to keep us guessing. I like how Esofi is an admirable, brave character who still has the major flaw of being a religious zealot who is ignorant to the scientific and medical strides of Ieflaria. This is a rare fantasy book that brings real-world medical knowledge onto the page, and seeing how that clashes with the Eleven (deities with their own particular “fields,” sort of like Greek gods and goddesses) is really interesting.

One of the big issues I had with the plot is with the dragons. I love dragons in fantasy and they can be very well-written. Calvin does a great job characterizing them as living beings rather than monsters, but I don’t think they were introduced into the greater universe very well. They end up being a huge plot point, but it felt sort of shoehorned. I wish they were introduced earlier in the story and were blended better with the magic. Even as their history was further explained in the last quarter of the book, I grew bored, eager to get back to the plot between Esofi and Adale.

Sexuality in this rather straightforward fantasy setting is a non-issue, which is refreshing. Universal pansexuality seems to be key, and nobody bats an eye at the idea of women marrying women or men marrying men because there are plenty of magical ways to produce an heir. There is also on-page acceptance and existence of non-binary and trans people, making me hope for even more inclusion in future books.

This is a well-written fantasy read with likable main characters and a sweet, slow, PG-rated romance. If you like long courtships and royal drama with your fantasy, this is a great read. I just hope some of those fantasy elements are fleshed out in future books to make us just as invested in magic and dragons as we are in the romance.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Nine Star Press

Amazon