These lovely books are two sequels in series I have quite enjoyed! They also happened to be released on the same day- in the U.S., at least. Anyway, I liked both of these quite a bit, so yay! It’s always nice when a sequel is as good as its predecessor- and since I haven’t had a ton of luck with them so far this year, these two were extra appreciated! 

The Scarecrow Queen by Melinda Salisbury
Published by Scholastic Press on October 31st 2017
Pages: 320
Format:Paperback, ARC
Source:Purchased, Copy provided by publisher for review

The final battle is coming . . .

As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on Lormere and Tregellan, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him.

Twylla and Errin are separated, isolated, and running out of time. The final battle is coming, and Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever...

Explosive, rich and darkly addictive, this is the stunning conclusion to Mel Salisbury's internationally best-selling trilogy that began with The Sin Eater's Daughter.

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It had been quite some time since I’d read The Sin Eater’s Daughter. It was a favorite of mine, and I pre-ordered the subsequent two books, even buying this one from the U.K. so I could get it sooner. But did I read them? No. Not until the lovely humans at Scholastic sent me an ARC of The Scarecrow Queen, and I realized that this was the perfect time to binge the rest of the series!

Not only did I read The Sleeping Prince and The Scarecrow Queen, but I devoured the collection of short stories, The Heart CollectorI wasn’t messing around, basically. And I am really glad that I read the rest of the series, it was definitely a good life choice.

Now, I am going to try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible for basically the whole series. Because I feel like this series doesn’t get the love it deserves and I want people to try it!

I think the main reason that I was hesitant to start the next book in the series was because I knew there was a switch in the POV character from book one to book two. And since I am a creature of habit, I didn’t like the idea of change. I loved Twylla in book one, so would I like the new character too? I needn’t have worried, as Errin is a fabulous character, and  the POV switch wasn’t a bad change at all.

This series is definitely a darker sort of series, which is fine by me. The villain(s) are… yeah they’re bad. There is a lot of twisted stuff happening, and it becomes quite clear that no one is safe in this world. As such, there’s a great deal of adventure that unfolds as our heroes try to defeat their very powerful foes.

Speaking of the characters, I loved them all so much. They all had their reasons for fighting, and I grew to care about them a lot. My one qualm with this final book is that we didn’t get to see as much of the side characters as I’d have liked. They had been fleshed out well, and I had hoped they would be further developed in book three, but some were relegated to the sidelines.

Overall, the series is very rich in worldbuilding, with culture and customs galore. By the time the end came, I felt like I knew so much about this fantasy kingdom, understood what made it (and its people) tick. The main characters are two incredibly tough women who may not have always wanted their roles but kicked absolute ass in them anyway. Definitely a series I’d recommend to fantasy fans!


The Empress by S.J. Kincaid
Series: The Diabolic #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on October 31st 2017
Pages: 378
Format:eARC, Hardcover
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley, Copy provided from publisher and Big Honcho Media

It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—one where they don’t have to hide or scheme or kill. One where creatures like Nemesis will be given worth and recognition, where science and information can be shared with everyone and not just the elite.

But having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress.

Nemesis will protect Tyrus at any cost. He is the love of her life, and they are partners in this new beginning. But she cannot protect him by being the killing machine she once was. She will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire—or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne. But if proving her humanity means that she and Tyrus must do inhuman things, is the fight worth the cost of winning it?

When the lovely Emma @ Miss Print recommended that I read The Diabolic, I took her seriously. For one, she knows what she’s talking about. For another, I traded for the damn book over a year ago, so why even had I not read it yet? ? So I read The Diabolic, very much enjoyed it, and raced to request the sequel!

I will say it was extra-nice to have the events of The Diabolic so fresh in my mind. And The Empress absolutely didn’t disappoint. It was really mostly a win, so let us talk first about what I loved, while being vague enough to not spoil anything for either book!

  • The plot was so wonderfully twisty! Ohhh I love a twist. And it is so hard these days for me to feel genuinely surprised by a plot twist. But The Empress shocked me over and over again. The author isn’t afraid to go there.
  • It is dark, incredibly so at times. I think this ties into my first point, and how the author isn’t afraid to make some shocking choices. But it’s more than that- it’s dark in a way that makes sense to the world. Makes the reader feel what it would be like to live in Nemesis’s situation.
  • Moral gray areas FTW! The characters all have to make so many decisions. To betray or be loyal, to kill or be killed, and so much more. It isn’t even just Nemesis that has to grapple with these tough calls, all the characters face really hard choices. And is there a right or wrong? It kind of reminded me of The 100, where all the choices might be crap and in the end, the characters just have to do what they think is best. And we all know that if I am comparing something to The 100, I clearly loved it.
  • Space adventures! Who doesn’t love space adventures? I feel like the worldbuilding in book two was even better than in book one. I understood the world so much better, understood a lot of how things got to the current point. Lots of questions that I had were answered, and the worldbuilding became so much more believable to me!
  • The ending blew my damn mind. Like, jaw on the floor. And now I have to wait a year for book three. Sobs.

The only thing that prevents me from going full five-stars is that there were a few times that the political aspects of the book took over a little too much and I found myself skimming a bit. But otherwise, this was an incredible sequel and I cannot wait for more of the world and the characters!

Will I Read the Sequel: Um, clearly.

Bottom Line: Filled with impossible decisions, dark twists and turns, and characters who basically can’t seem to catch a break, this sequel was a fabulous follow-up!

Have you started either of these series? What is the best sequel you’ve read so far this year?

Posted November 3, 2017 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Dual, Review / 17 Comments

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17 responses to “Dual Review: Sequel Edition

  1. I loved The Sin Eater’s Daughter, and want to continue the series. My obstacle is always simply not having the book. It is an interesting choice to switch POVs. Now I am curious to see why. Great reviews.

  2. I didn’t even actually realize that The Scarecrow Queen was out. I really enjoyed the first two books, so I’ll definitely be picking that one up. And I pre-ordered The Empress because I really loved The Diabolic, and my oldest ADORED it! Yay for sequel wins!

  3. I hadn’t heard about the POV switch. See, I had issues with Twyla so that encourages me to read the sequel. I don’t like the sound of darker though. I don’t do depressing books. I’m glad you finally finished the series!

  4. Lol remember a long time ago we bonded because I hated the Sineater’s Daughter and you absolutely loved it? Anyways that is the extent that I will go for that series. And then I STILL NEED TO READ THE DIABOLIC but I actually own it now? So yay?

    THE BEST SEQUEL I READ THIS YEAR WAS A CONJURING OF LIGHT and idk why you haven’t finished the damn series yet. Who are you.

    • HA I do remember that! When I read that book, people either LOOOOVED it or HATED it. It was also my first physical ARC, so that was exciting. Definitely read The Diabolic, I think you’ll like it! I know, I know, I need to read ACOL, but do you REALLY want me to read it when I hate all books? Prooooobably not.,

  5. OK, even though they’ve been on my TBR for a while, I still haven’t read the first book in either of these series. But your reviews just made me push them ahead on my TBR, because is there anything better than a good binge-read?
    My favorite sequel of the year has to be either A Conjuring of Light or the sequels to Red Winter by Annette Marie 🙂

  6. The Scarecrow Queen is a totally bitchandicular cover, I love the riotous splash of color! Very nice. And oh it’s good too? Bonus! Sounds like a really good series! Your thoughts on the Empress have me looking at that one now too- space! Gray areas! Reference to the 100. Tough decisions to make. I love sci fi right now… 🙂

    • I love the covers for the series too! I wish I had the US version of Scarecrow Queen still, but alas. And yes, I definitely liked The Diabolic- it’s very sci fi, which is what made me want to read it too, I feel like I am bored of books on Earth at the moment.

  7. It will not surprise anyone to hear that I have read exactly zero of these books. But The Diabolic sounds awesome and I‘ll have to put it on my TBR! So I‘ll probably get to it in, say, 34 years. I‘ve also preordered books because I had to get them right away and now they‘re still lying around unread. I love how much sense our brains make. And I‘m totally with you about the POV change being off putting BUT I‘m looking forward to reading the second book in the Glittering Court series because I liked that character (was her name Mira??) better in the first one anyway. And I liked Dark Triumph more than Grave Mercy (I forget the name of the series but you probably now it), so sometimes POV changes can be good! (Although I then DNF‘d the third book in the series so there‘s that.)

    • HA well I will be looking for your opinion in 34 years then. Seriously, WHY do we do this? It’s like we enjoy being broke or some nonsense? The Glittering Court… well, I agree, I like Mira better than what’s-her-name. BUT there were parts that were a bit repetitive, just a head’s up. It was still good though. I have not read Grave Mercy- just like you, one of the books I will read 34 years from now hahha. Oh no, a DNF that deep into a series would make me so sad!

  8. So glad I didn’t steer you wrong with this recommendation! I will still periodically turn to my coworker who also read The Empress and say “but what if . . . ?!” as I struggle to figure out if certain characters are redeemable or not. I fear I know the answer and I expected certain things to fall apart once I knew this was becoming a series but omg that doesn’t make it any easier.

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