I thoroughly enjoyed the previous Kingmaker Chronicles novels so naturally I was pretty excited to see the series continuing with A Curse of Queens! While I am grateful for the continuation of the story as a whole in this expansive alluring world, I only wish Jocasta's time in the limelight would have been more engaging. It was a painfully slow read until the last 25% in my opinion. So much so that by the time interesting things really started happening I just wanted it to be over. The last bit of the book was honestly terrific though and held a lot of potential for interesting storylines to come. I'd definitely like to give the next book a shot but I can only hope it will not drag as long as this one did or my interest for the series might just die off. 


Even the Romance element to this one felt off to me. I didn’t FEEL the chemistry between Flynn and Jocasta as much as I did in previous books which is really saying something considering this is the only one where intimate things happen between them. I love a good will-they-or-won't-they slow burn, but this felt inevitable and torturously drawn out. I didn't feel the feels, I was just told they are there...so when it finally happens I was past truly having any investment in it. 


I think I missed the consistent excitement of Cat and Griffin immensely in this installment, whether it be in battle or romance. Maybe a Carver and Bellanca book next might turn up the heat and quicken the pace. I'd be game for that. 


I received an ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley and this is my honest review.