Warning! Spoiler Alert!
“Danger, dread,
mystery, and romance” (Booklist) continue in the second book of The
Pledge trilogy, as Charlie’s reign is under siege from the most unusual
of enemies.
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.
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.
Description taken from Goodreads
My Review
It’s really hard to put my feelings into words right
now. I’m enjoying this series a lot but
it’s still falling flat for me. Not much
connection but I did feel better about this book than I did with The Pledge.
At the end of The Pledge we realize that Queen Sabara is
still very much alive but her Essence is now inside Charlie, the new Queen of
Ludania. So right off the bat you know
things aren’t going to be easy in The Essence.
Charlie is still annoying to me. She’s just so naïve and way too
trusting. She’s a new queen that has
implemented a new law and people aren’t happy.
Let me just say that there’s a difference between bravery and sheer
stupidity. Seriously. She’s just very frustrating and it takes
almost the whole book, for me, to somewhat enjoy her character. I can now tolerate her.
I loved meeting the different queens of different
realms. Hearing their unique
personalities. That was very interesting and it was honestly my favorite part. I love the political aspect of this book.
I even loved Queen Sabara.
Yes, she’s an evil bitch but you do get a lot of backstory and find out
that she is, in fact, human and not the devil.
Just like in The Pledge, I couldn’t stand the romance. Max and Charlie have no chemistry
whatsoever. I don’t get it. They know absolutely nothing about each
other. I have to say that I’m actually
rooting for Charlie and Zafir. They definitely
have a lot more going on. I can see it.
There was really barely any action but I actually liked
that. It was more of a mystery and
political intrigue than anything else. I
loved that so much. But, I know that
shits about to hit the fan in the last installment of this trilogy, The
Offering. I can’t wait to see how things
are handled and how it all ends.
Characters 3.5/5
Plot 4/5
Feels 2.5/5
Writing 4/5
Overall 3.5/5
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