_edited.png)
“Her sister said it would take a year to raise an army, bring down a tyrant, and marry a king. Roa had done it in just three months.”
The Caged Queen, is the sequel to The Last Namsara (strangely, a novel I am still in the process of reading) this high-fantasy novel follows the same characters, and takes-place in the same areas, it follows a different path, and expands on the story-line seen before.
Roa, Daughter of the House of Song. Her entire character is a complex one, being driven by a loss, that doesn’t become explicitly clear till further into the novel. Ciccarelli, dangles Roa’s depth, like a carrot on a string – ‘keep reading’, says the carrot, it’s worth it. And, inexplicably, it is worth it. What develops is a intricate, and complex relationship history between Roa, and her lost sister – except her sister isn’t quite lost. Fighting within herself, for what she wants, and what she must do, Roa makes a decision that shapes a nation, her nation.
Roa, who has become Dragon Queen, (and subsequently King Dax’s wife, in an attempt to support her homelands by sitting on the throne – a plot device for further development). She despises her husband, wishing only ill-fate on him for the accident he caused, resulting in the loss of her sister.
Drawing on a complex political alliance, and navigating the tensions that accompany such a high-stakes position, Roa is left as the only one who is seemingly making sacrifices for the good of her people. Isolated from home, and with uncertainty’s running rampant, an ancient story prompts Roa to believe, there may be a way to bring her sister back. This leaves Roa deciding, what is she willing to sacrifice for love? (A question, prefacing the entire synopsis of the novel)
“ What would you sacrifice for love? Death-defying, world-altering love?”
What sets Ciccarelli’s novel apart, is the intricate character building. Incorporating backstory, and lore into every aspect of the novel, Ciccarelli effectively constructs an authenticity within the character, giving justification for their flaws, and identifying different nuances within the characterisation of each person Roa encounters.
It was a novel, where the pace grew with our understanding of the characters. As we learnt more about each person, we wanted to learn even more again. While we were introduced to strangers, we left the book with flawed humans who were even more so – if possible – developed, containing more depth than the author perhaps intended.
Character building, world-building, and the reliability of authenticity in novels will always draw me in – and this, was no exception.
The Caged Queen is an eloquent creation of Fantasy and desire, it encapsulates another world and makes you feel like you’re slowly drifting in it – it gives you peril and leaves you on the edge of the seat wanting more – the novel is a beautiful creation, and contradicts a wonderful collaboration of a young-girl doing what is best for her people, and fighting herself throughout.
I appreciate, and adore every aspect of this novel, its the perfect change of pace from other over-used story-tropes, and, I look forward to reading the next.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. For more, visit https://ljkastermanslibrary.wordpress.com/