The Queen’s Choice by Cayla Kruver
Series: Heir of Chrior #1
Published by: Harlequin Teen on January 28th 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Fae/Fairies, Young Adult
Pages: 512
Source: ARC from Harlequin Teen
My Rating: 
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Harlequin Teen. It does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.
When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen’s mantle herself.
Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.
Anya is a 16 year old faerie who is related to the Queen of Chrior– Ubiqua and is betrothed to Davic. Entering the human world is a danger zone. If a human sees you, you’ll be lucky they kill you on spot. Humans and Faeries are not on good terms.
Queen Ubiqua is dying and is seeking her son whom is not in the kingdom but in the human world. He’s next to the throne and Ubiqua wants to see him one last time. She sends Illumina, Anya’s younger cousin, out to the human world in search of Zabriel. Anya knows Illumina won’t survive in the human world and decides to leave the kingdom to find Zabriel herself. Well, that probably wasn’t a good decision.
Anya must now figure out who she is with having no connection to the kingdom since she is now in the human world. Find Zabriel- wherever he is in the world, convince him to come back, and survive this whole trip. Can she do it? What will she risk doing this?
I’m the worst book blogger ever.. I received this book back in like November… And I’m reviewing this late. I’m terrible! I know, I’m terrible… But to my defense, the cover says February not January. And other books were screaming at me… Guys, I’m sorry! I know.. I’m a disappointment! Okay, enough.
I really did like this book, but there were some things that bothered me while reading which I’ll get to in a minute. I haven’t read many– if any– fairy books. So it was nice to start with this. It wasn’t too overpowering and too unrealistic. The world building was hard to understand at first, but once I understood, I really enjoyed the world!
Cayla Kruver’s writing style is somewhat poetic, especially in the beginning. It’s the way she describes the story. It makes it feel poetic-y. Does that make sense?
I loved Anya’s character- she’s strong, brave, and very quick on her toes. (I feel like I always give the same characteristics to the main characters, but it’s true!) After everything that has happened, she can still hold her head up high and still move on with her life.
I liked the fact that there was a relationship right off the bat. Normally, the 2 main characters meet then fall in love. Well, Anya and Davic are already in love when the book starts. It was nice to have a relationship already made. But, however, their isn’t much romance in the book at all. Which is not a bad thing, I actually like when not all books are centered around the relationship. It’s refreshing.
I didn’t like how long the book was. Some parts (in my opinion) weren’t needed. The story dragged on at some parts and I would find myself trying to read faster so I can get over some parts. The book definitely could have been a lot shorter. I did also find some parts were very predictable. The second it was hinted, I figured it out 20 pages before Anya figured it out.
The ending was good, but it was somewhat predictable. I definitely will continue on with the series because there were some things that weren’t solved and I’m curious to see what happens.
I smiled despite myself. “Very caring gentlemen, those two. No offer to look around, no “Are you alright?'” I adopted a gruff, over-the-top voice. ” Just, ‘Fix the damn door!'”
Shea laughed once more, and this time I joined in, the relief welcome.–page 141 (my copy)
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“By the time I returned to our table, Shea had recovered and was picking at her food. After a few minutes, I realizes she was softly singing. I tuned in my ears and heard, “Anya and Davic, will their love be true? Will they have children, maybe one or two….” –page 269 (my copy)
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“How ’bout a kiss, missy?” he chortled, as though he were perfectly within his rights to be holding her. “Then we’ll see where the evenin’ takes us.”
I went for my long-knife, wondering about The Paladin’s policies on killing its customers, but before I could make any other move, Shea slammed the heel of her boot down on the man’s foot. He let go of her, yowling in pain.
“Call that the climax of our evening,” she seethed, backing away. –page 378 (my copy)
