Back in January, I shared a five star review for The Night’s Chosen by E.E. Hornburg. That was book one of the New Adult fantasy series, The Cursed Queens. I fell in love with this world and knew I had to read book two, The Shadow’s Heir, as soon as possible! I was lucky enough to get an ARC before its May 17th, 2022 release. If you’re reading this the day I post it, that’s TODAY. With that, let’s get into the spoiler free review!

I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.

Synopsis:

Myra has spent years hiding—in servitude of the now imprisoned Queen Amelia, and from a lineage she never wanted.

Now that she is freed from Amelia’s clutches, Myra is ready for a new start, but the echoes of the past, and the truth of who she is—a direct descendant of Stula, the goddess of death—will only disrupt the peace she wants to find in the kingdom of Oxare.

The kingdom is beautiful, as is the handsome prince Alvis and though his offer to join him at the Golden Palace is tempting, Myra is determined to make her own way.

But when a life on her own becomes too difficult, Myra is forced to accept Alvis’ offer and lands in the thick of a plot to free Queen Amelia. To keep the entire realm and her people safe, Myra and Alvis must find out who among the Golden Palace court is the betrayer before Amelia escapes.

But with each passing day Myra feels her connection to Alvis growing stronger, and her past continues to haunt her. Can they protect the kingdom and each other, before Amelia takes her revenge and Alvis finds out the truth?

My Thoughts:

• Rating- 
• Heat Level- 

I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous going into this book. I absolutely fell in love with Eira and Caderyn in The Night’s Chosen and I wasn’t ready to leave them for new characters. I always have this problem in series where each book revolves around someone else. However, I couldn’t help but love Myra and Alvis just as much. 

Another concern I had was that this would be a filler story. I’m not sure how long this series is going to be but second books, in my opinion, can really drag. That was not the case here. The Shadow’s Heir has its own complete storyline and could almost be read as a standalone; though, I don’t recommend that. I actually feel that this book had a bit more adventure than The Night’s Chosen… but that could be because there were pirates😅

As always, I adored the fairytale elements and how the story was a loose retelling of “Cinderella.” Like the first book, this one was filled with magic and a super interesting religious belief system. I love when authors create their own religions and magic systems. Those aspects really flesh out a fantasy world and Hornburg has did an excellent job of creating both in her books. 

Final Thoughts:

If it’s not obvious, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next one. I also wanted to mention that both e-books are currently on sale for $0.99. Each one has been a five star read for me and I highly recommend buying them. If you’ve read either book, I’d love to know what you thought! Thanks for reading and have a great day!