Born under the crumbling towers of her kingdom, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves. It nearly tore her nation apart. But her arranged marriage to the son of a rival clan heralds peace.

However, he suddenly disappears before their reign can begin, and the kingdom is fractured beyond repair.

Years later, he sends a mysterious invitation to meet. Talyien journeys across the sea in hopes of reconciling their past. An assassination attempt quickly dashes those dreams. Stranded in a land she doesn’t know, with no idea whom she can trust, Talyien will have to embrace her namesake.

I’ve started more than a couple reviews the same way I’m going to start this one…and I can already think of a couple more I’ll be writing in the not-too-distant future that will be a bit similar. Because K. S. Villoso’s brilliant fantasy novel, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is another great example of a book that was previously self-published getting picked up by the amazing folks at Orbit!!

I had purchased a copy of the self-published version last year, but like literally hundreds of books in my house, I just hadn’t gotten to it yet. And at some point after the announcement about her deal with Orbit, I mentioned to Kay on Twitter that I had been really meaning to read the book. But she said that she would much prefer it if folks would wait until the Orbit version was out, so here we are!

This first story in Chronicles of the Bitch Queen is from the point of view of Queen Talyien of the Oren-Yaro, the so-called Bitch Queen, better known as Tali to those close to her. Early in her life, she was betrothed to a member of a rival clan, the Ikessar. Once married, she and her husband, Rayyel, are to be coronated & rule jointly, in an attempt to bring peace & stability to their respective war-torn countries. But after a few years of marriage & the birth of their son, Rayyel abandons Tali the night before their coronation.

Five years pass, and Tali receives an urgent letter from Rayyel, asking her to travel to Anzhao City to meet with him. She tries to see it as a political opportunity, but there’s a big part of her that just wants her husband to return with her, and to be back in their son’s life. It’s a bit of an unauthorized trip, and things go horribly wrong almost from the start. The meeting with Rayyel turns deadly, and soon Tali finds herself alone in a strange city, relying on her wits & courage to stay alive.

Oof…this book was a fucking whirlwind!! I thought the pacing from start to finish was perfect. This is a book with a lot of backstory, a very deep sense of history woven throughout the story. And while politics play a huge role, it’s also an incredibly personal story. Tali is this intensely believable, flawed, charismatic person. It’s easy to see why people follow her, but the first-person POV allows us to really get inside her head, and understand her insecurities & fears. And yes, she’s a total badass who sometimes leaps into action before giving it much thought, but Villoso takes care to give Tali a great sense of vulnerability. She really is a fantastic protagonist, and I am SUPER anxious to see where this trilogy takes her!

There are lots of secondary characters to get to know, to me none more compelling than Khine. He’s the conman with a heart of gold, and Tali has to decide whether or not to trust him, time & time again. I adored the dynamic between Tali & Khine!!

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is clearly the start of a incredibly special trilogy. K. S. Villoso has such a great talent for pacing, and for balancing some really fun & thrilling action scenes with great dialogue/character moments. A Filipino-inspired fantasy, this book also features some drool-worthy descriptions of food!!

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro has everything I look for in a fantasy novel, and I have no doubt this is going to wind up being one of my favorite series! This book was just fucking magical!

Mega thanks to Orbit for sending me a copy for review!!