The Queen of Traitors

The Fallen World, Book 2

By: Laura Thalassa

Narrated by: Laurel Schroeder

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

They say I am a queen. They say I married a monster. That I did so willingly. They say he cannot die, that he does not age. That, together, we rule a ravaged world. They say I used to be one of them, but now I am a traitor. They say many things, all which I cannot remember, but....

I fear what they say is true.

Then there is what they don't say, what I see in their eyes - the king terrifies them. He cannot be stopped. And, most worrisome of all....

He is coming for me.

©2016 Laura Thalassa (P)2017 Laura Thalassa

Unique new Series

This is worth the time to listen. It’s not the best I have read but it is a unique story that involves a love hate romance . The plot is based around a fictional WWIII and the main character continues in her quest to negotiate and maintain peace for the western world. All while wrestling with her feelings towards the Eastern king. Personally, I think the series would have been better served by including more detail. Some aspects of the War are hard to believe. Despite the drawbacks there is still a great story of personal scarify and unexpected love.

Sigh...

Book 2 and I'm still partially annoyed. Why the heck does the heroine have to be the one to keep giving and breaking, when the King gives nothing. It's frustrating! She may be young, but she's a strong personality and then all the sudden, she's portrayed as a weak-willed, ninny.

OMG! This book! The king, he . . . Oh. My. Gawd!!!

Ok so first: definitely 5 stars. Book 1 was Great. This book was Excellent!

Second: as twisted as Serenity's situation is, I love the dynamic between her and the king (Montez).

Third: How you know you're a bad ass . . . A plot to kill you and your spouse has been constructed by someone in your inner circle. They know your contingency plans and take out all your guards . . . And not only do you survive, you get revenge in the process = #AbsoluteBadAss

Fourth: The epilogue . . . Sooooooooooooo many years! The king, he . . . Ugh! Oh. My. Gawd!!!!!

Fifth: 1 week. 5 days to get through the next couple of books in my rotation, and 2 days to finish book 3. Give me 1 week.

OMG!!!

I never imagined that their lust would turn to love..I can see that they are kindred spirits but his need to protect and save her will inevitably earn him her wrath. Beautiful book with awesome cliffhanger.

Series ALERT

Must read and or Listen...This series is amazing from start to finish. I love the readers and how they give a good description on the characters, looks and influential power of each individual. Will read and listen again and again.

Great story

Any additional comments?

While I like continuity of narrators in series, I really wish they had switched for this one. It's hard to explain, but it's like the end of all of her sentences sound unfinished or that she's trailing off on all of them. Sometimes they even sound like a question to me. I powered through it because I love this series so much, but that really really bothered me.

Fantastic!!!

I should just copy and paste my review for the first book because I stand by everything I said about why I'm loving this series so much.

The more I listen to the audiobooks, the more I love it. There is just something about the way Serenity hates Montez while slowly falling in love with him that is very compelling. No matter how much she pushes him away, Montez's obsession grows for her. He actually loves her hate and anger. He seems to thrive on it. He doesn't want to tame her, but he wants to own her body and soul. I find that I'm loving their very dysfunctional love.

The only thing I did not like about book two is the way it ended. I'm actually very angry about it and I had to start book 3 immediately so it can be fixed.

I highly recommend the audiobooks. Laurel Schroeder is one of my favorite narraters. She is doing a fantastic job with this series.

Great sequel.

I was a little nervous at first because the first part really seemed like a rehash of the first book. It did eventually start covering new areas and I did enjoy it overall even if I enjoyed the first book the most.

Epic 2nd Book

I’m not even sure what to say about this story. It’s visceral, and achingly human. It contains all the worst vices humanity possesses, as well as the strange redeeming power of love... which can also become a twisted kind of poison.

Serenity’s transformation is difficult and intense. Watching her go through the pain of all her losses a second time, and coming to terms with her feelings for the king is painful. It’s hard to see her regress and harden. It’s even harder to watch her go through even steeper loss.

Perhaps the worst is watching Montes make the wrong choices over and over. There is no doubt he loves her, and yet his desperate love for her causes him to abuse her without intending to. The epilogue is beautifully excruciating.

As far as narration goes... I didn’t like it. There isn’t anything wrong with it! She does a very good job of voicing the characters and all that. There was just something about the cadence of her speech that was distracting to me. I didn’t hate it, and Ms Schroeder is an accomplished narrator, so I think it’s probably something that is just particular to me. However if you’re concerned about it, definitely listen to the sample first.

**Spoiler alert & trigger warning**


Laura Thalassa addresses difficult things in all her books, and this is no different. Not only is there terrible violence, and an inherently (although unintentionally) abusive relationship, there is also a miscarriage. I feel it’s only fair to prepare you for that in case you’ve experienced that, or are particularly sensitive to it.

Something I appreciate about Thalassa is that while her stories involve these things, she treats them with respect and sensitivity. She isn’t crude or uncaring of what happens with the miscarriage. Also, she doesn’t glorify the abuse Montes unwittingly puts on Serenity. It’s always clear that what happens is not right. There is a deep affection between the two characters as they look past one another’s faults and see the true identity beneath, but their brokenness prevents them from having a healthy relationship.

I am hoping that the next book leads to some redemption for Montes, and that Serenity can find a way to forgive him. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this series doesn’t have a happy ending.

Loved the story, not the narrator

Unfortunately, every phrase the voice actress utters has the same cadence, ends on the same note. Between that angry sing-song reading and the dreadful supposed-to-French-no-wait-Basque accent, the listener is pulled from immersion to annoyance far too often for the book to get a higher rating.