Author: Kimberly Derting
Rating: 5 stars
The blurb:
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.
Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.
As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.
Review:
This is a book I have been waiting for ever since I read the first book in the series, The Pledge, which I absolutely loved! If you haven't read the first book then you really should do it now because it really is an amazing book.
Charlie is finally Queen of Ludania and for the most part she likes it; she likes that she can enact change and she likes that her parents don't have to work so hard anymore, and she gets to be with Max, the guy she loves. There are some things however that aren't so great; there are some people who are against Charlie, against her plan to bring equality to Ludania and they will stop at nothing to make sure she fails.
Charlie also has a secret, one that is tearing her up inside. The former Queen Sabara is trapped in her mind fighting Charlie for control. I think that Sabara being inside Charlie's head is very interesting. Charlie is clearly a very strong person and under normal circumstances I think she would be able to fight Sabara off easily. Unfortunately Charlie is dealing with a resistance group, learning how to be a queen, and trying to keep Sabara a secret from everyone so they don't think she's gone insane. That's a lot to deal with for anyone let alone a seventeen year old. Throughout this whole book I was so upset with Charlie for not telling anyone her secret to anyone who could help her, especially Max. I understand why she wouldn't want to tell anyone but I was still upset by it. This is also one of the things that I really like about Charlie; she makes mistakes. She isn't some perfect person who can do no wrong, which makes her easy to relate to.
Another part of the story that made me angry was Niko Bartolo. The love interest of Sabara. I hated that Charlie was being forced to have feelings for him because of Sabara. Charlie clearly loves Max but because of these other "feelings" their relationship gets strained. The author Kimberly Derting did a great job here, even if it was upsetting for me to see Charlie have to go through that.
Other Characters:
Zafir- I loved Zafir in this! His stark refusal to call Charlie by her name rather than Your Majesty throughout the book was really funny. If I didn't love Max so much with Charlie then I think it would be really interesting to see Zafir and Charlie together. I know that most likely won't happen but it's interesting to think about.
Brook- I think Brook has grown so much as a character in this book. She is more responsible and even nicer. I felt so bad for her because of her relationship with her dad.
Aron- Aron has gotten much more book time in The Essence and I'm very happy about that. In The Pledge I was initially worried about him being a competing love interest for Charlie but as that turned out not to be true I grew to love him.
Kimberly Derting is a great author and I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I look forward to reading more from her, specifically Dead Silence, the next in the body finder series.
Review:
This is a book I have been waiting for ever since I read the first book in the series, The Pledge, which I absolutely loved! If you haven't read the first book then you really should do it now because it really is an amazing book.
Charlie is finally Queen of Ludania and for the most part she likes it; she likes that she can enact change and she likes that her parents don't have to work so hard anymore, and she gets to be with Max, the guy she loves. There are some things however that aren't so great; there are some people who are against Charlie, against her plan to bring equality to Ludania and they will stop at nothing to make sure she fails.
Charlie also has a secret, one that is tearing her up inside. The former Queen Sabara is trapped in her mind fighting Charlie for control. I think that Sabara being inside Charlie's head is very interesting. Charlie is clearly a very strong person and under normal circumstances I think she would be able to fight Sabara off easily. Unfortunately Charlie is dealing with a resistance group, learning how to be a queen, and trying to keep Sabara a secret from everyone so they don't think she's gone insane. That's a lot to deal with for anyone let alone a seventeen year old. Throughout this whole book I was so upset with Charlie for not telling anyone her secret to anyone who could help her, especially Max. I understand why she wouldn't want to tell anyone but I was still upset by it. This is also one of the things that I really like about Charlie; she makes mistakes. She isn't some perfect person who can do no wrong, which makes her easy to relate to.
Another part of the story that made me angry was Niko Bartolo. The love interest of Sabara. I hated that Charlie was being forced to have feelings for him because of Sabara. Charlie clearly loves Max but because of these other "feelings" their relationship gets strained. The author Kimberly Derting did a great job here, even if it was upsetting for me to see Charlie have to go through that.
Other Characters:
Zafir- I loved Zafir in this! His stark refusal to call Charlie by her name rather than Your Majesty throughout the book was really funny. If I didn't love Max so much with Charlie then I think it would be really interesting to see Zafir and Charlie together. I know that most likely won't happen but it's interesting to think about.
Brook- I think Brook has grown so much as a character in this book. She is more responsible and even nicer. I felt so bad for her because of her relationship with her dad.
Aron- Aron has gotten much more book time in The Essence and I'm very happy about that. In The Pledge I was initially worried about him being a competing love interest for Charlie but as that turned out not to be true I grew to love him.
Kimberly Derting is a great author and I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I look forward to reading more from her, specifically Dead Silence, the next in the body finder series.
Ok.. kinda skimmed this review cause I wasn't sure if I would get spoilers. Just have to say ENVIOUS that you have gotten to read it! lol.. I am on hold list at library.. can't wait!
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