The spiral to madness begins with a single push.

Abandoned by her people, Queen Talyien’s quest takes a turn for the worst as she stumbles upon a plot deeper and more sinister than she could have ever imagined, one that will displace her king and see her son dead. The road home beckons, strewn with a tangled web of deceit and impossible horrors that unearth the nation’s true troubles – creatures from the dark, mad dragons, and men with hearts hungry for power.

To save her land, Talyien must confront the myth others have built around her: Warlord Yeshin’s daughter, symbol of peace, warrior and queen, and everything she could never be.

The price of failure is steep. Her friends are few. And a nation carved by a murderer can only be destined for war.

So this is another series that is really playing tricks on my concept of time. I could have sworn that I read K. S. Villoso’s THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO in 2019, but I just checked & I actually posted my review in March of this year. Weird! Anyway, it was a book I absolutely LOVED, and I’m thrilled to say the follow-up, THE IKESSAR FALCON, is somehow even more epic & exciting than the first book in the CHRONICLES OF THE BITCH QUEEN series!

As always, writing a review for the second book in an epic fantasy series feels daunting to me. Not even from a spoilers perspective (that too), but sometimes it almost feels like the weight of the story is so heavy…where do you even start?

The story picks up not long after the events of THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO, with Tali continuing her quest to return home to her son, a quest which begins to feel increasingly impossible. As she struggles not only with the physical demands and limitations of returning home, she also continues on this journey of self-discovery. Trying to emerge from her father’s shadow. Trying to figure out how she will rule, or if she even can. To figure out who she loves, who she wants, who she will choose…and whether that can all be the same person.

Also, there are dragons. Like, holy fuck.

If you were wondering where are the dragons…here be dragons.

While THE IKESSAR FALCON is steeped in politics & is a deeply character-driven story, Villoso expertly crafts some of the most thrilling action sequences I’ve read. There are some legit JAW-DROPPING moments & huge surprises in this one!

As with the first book, I remain a huge fan of Khine. It would be unfair to dismiss him as just a lost puppy trailing after Tali wherever she goes, because Khine seems to be the one person in Tali’s life who seems to accept her for who she is, as opposed to who she is supposed to be. Oof…I ship them. Hard.

THE IKESSAR FALCON is epic in pretty much every sense of the word. This book is significantly longer than its predecessor and you really feel like you went on this journey with Tali by the end. Like I was emotionally exhausted when I read the final page of this book, real talk. Villoso ups the ante for Tali in a big way, while also injecting the story with plenty of humor. And as with THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO, this book also left me feeling hungry constantly, because goddamn, the food in this world sounds drool-worthy. Also I don’t want to get too into it, but the ostensible villain of the piece is…fucking horrifying. That is all.

THE IKESSAR FALCON is just phenomenal, and completely cements CHRONICLES OF THE BITCH QUEEN as a new favorite series for me! So excited for book three!!

Huge thanks to Orbit for sending a copy my way!!