The Queen of Attolia Book Review

If you’re trying to decide whether or not to read The Queen of Attolia, you’re in the right place. I LOVE this book. It is one of my all-time favorites. But whether or not you will like it remains to be determined. After all, everyone has different tastes and preferences.

Chances are, if you’ve read and loved The Thief, you’ll also love this second installment of the Queen’s Thief series. However, Whalen Turner makes several shifts in writing style, tone, point of view, and themes. The novel also fits into slightly different subgenres.

In this Queen of Attolia book review, we’ll dip our toes into what ingredients have gone into the novel so you can decide whether to crack the cover or not.

Queen of Attolia Book Review

For fans of Crown Duel, The Theft of Swords, and Mistborn: The Final Empire.

This novel brings back one of my most beloved literary characters: Eugenides. As I mentioned in my review of The Thief, he’s irreverent, witty, and has a flair for wild schemes. But what he must confront in this story is darker and harsher. He suffers a terrible blow and must choose whether to descend into despair or mature in new and deeper ways.

Where The Thief is lighthearted and witty, The Queen of Attolia takes on a poignant edge. The stakes are higher, the consequences more dire. Gen changes from a daring boy to a brave man who has fallen into a pit and must claw his way back out. The focus also zooms out to include the politics of all three countries on the Little Peninsula: Eddis, Sounis, and Attolia.

A beautiful but severe woman wears a green dress and a simple coronet across her forehead. Her brown hair falls to either side and her collar is rimmed in white flowers. Three close-up sketches of her face take up the rest of the image. Above it all is written the word "Attolia."

The image shows a young man with chin-length brown hair and a bland, but sad expression. One hand is hidden behind his back. The rest of the image shows three sketches of his face. In one, his eyes are intense and narrowed, as though shimmering with sadness and determination. Above it all is the word "Eugenides."

Despite the changes that take place in Gen, he doesn’t lose his X factor—those qualities that make him who he is: the gripping, kind, impertinent, and scheming character I came to love in The Thief. As an extra perk, in this novel, we also get to see the humanity in Irene, the queen of Attolia, as she struggles with her demons and emerges from a pit of her own. The novel explores the complex relationship between her and Gen, setting the stage for the equally fabulous next book in the series, The King of Attolia.

The Queen of Attolia is a third-person-limited narrative with both a male and female main character, swordplay, thievery, explosions, political intrigue, betrayals, and an enemies-to-lovers romance, set against a backdrop of warfare, diplomacy, and personal sacrifice.

Quick Overview of the Story (Spoiler Free)

Gen’s sneaky infiltration of Attolia’s palace goes horribly wrong. When he returns home, he’s missing a crucial part of himself. He’s taken a blow to his identity that he may never recover from. War ensues, his people are endangered, and his queen needs him. Can Gen find himself again? Find a new way forward? A new way of being the thief? A new way to steal not only treasures and information but time, peace, and stability for his region? Can he save not only himself but his enemy from the greater threat of the Medes?

The image shows an ink drawing of a man (Gen) and woman (the queen of attolia) climbing up rocky stairs. The woman is a few steps above the man, and is turning to look back at him, her expression fierce. The man looks up at her with a mixture of calm and sadness. Both of their capes are flying, as though in a wind.

What I Love About The Queen of Attolia

There’s so much to love about this book! If I weren’t having so much fun talking about it, I’d say, “Go read it already!” and be done. Here are a few of the reasons I enjoy it so much.

Excellent Writing

The writing is, in my opinion, even better than The Thief. In this novel, Whalen Turner moves away from first-person and instead writes in third-person limited. In this point of view her writing truly shines.

She does a brilliant job of conveying emotion through action, body language, and subtext. We get to go deeper into the character’s hearts while still maintaining a sense of grand adventure. And the scenes themselves are just… wow. Gut punches and heart-melting moments are delivered in concise prose. It’s gripping. There is nothing overdone or melodramatic here.

Compelling Characters

As Garth Nix puts it, the characters in this novel are “endlessly entertaining, deeply deceptive, and very, very clever.”

Many of the same characters we got to know and love in the first book of the series return in The Queen of Attolia. Eddis, the Magus, and Gen’s father are all featured in the story. But we also get a much deeper view of Irene, the queen of Attolia, and are introduced to Nahuseresh, the scheming oily Mede Ambassador.

Irene is a complex character, a person who has had to sacrifice her humanity in many ways in order to hold onto her throne and protect her people from her power-hungry barons. In Irene, we see someone who is hard, cold, severe, and cruel at times, but much like in Gen himself, she has layers of depth waiting to be discovered. It’s appropriate that Gen is one of the first to truly see past the mask to the lonely isolated woman beneath. And what a beautiful story of love that he not only sees her but endeavors to cross that gap and bring her out at great cost to himself.

I love character-driven novels, and Whalen Turner does a fabulous job of putting her characters front and center in this novel.

The image shows a man in three poses: One is a close-up of his face. He has brown skin, dark hair, intense eyes, and the feather-shaped scar on his left cheek. Another shows him lying against something with his legs splayed in front of him, his eyes closed, and a bandage around his hand. He looks lost in an inner world, and sick at heart. The last drawing shows the same man draped in folds of cloth, walking forward. His mouth is thin, lips pressed together, eyes narrowed as though in pain, dismay, or warning.

Plot Twists

Gen pulls off some fabulous schemes in The Queen of Attolia. The twists and surprises make the book extremely satisfying and entertaining. I can’t say more because I don’t want to give anything away.

“This is the stupidest plan that I have ever in my career participated in,” he said.
“I love stupid plans,” said Eugenides.

I could go on about the world-building, culture, deities, romance, and more. But if the book has sounded interesting so far, go read it and discover its delights for yourself.

What I Didn’t Love About The Queen of Attolia

I can’t think of anything I didn’t like in this book. It’s excellent.

Subgenres

As far as Fantasy subgenres go, The Queen of Attolia fits into:

Roguish Fantasy – stories about characters on the fringes of society, like assassins and thieves
Low Fantasy – set in a realistic world (sort of like ancient Greece) with the inclusion of magical elements
Young Adult – appropriate for young adult readers (Gen’s age is never specified, but he’s a young person)
Political Fantasy – stories that delve into the psychological drama and tactical intrigue of political powers
Romantic Fantasy – although subtle, the romance subplot is a binding thread through the story
Hopepunk Fantasy – fighting for positive change has worth, even in the mess, grit, and hardship of this world

The drawing shows a woman reclining on a chair reading a scroll while a warrior stands sharply behind her. In the background is a ship, its sail curved and full. — Drawing by Keith Thompson of keiththomsponart.com

Trigger Warnings

Some of the characters are tied up and beaten during the story. The characters sustain physical injuries, including amputation, and suffer from insomnia and screaming nightmares. Several people die (mostly off-page), and a kidnapping occurs in the story. One of the characters struggles with a disability and the people who look down on him for it. This character also turns to alcohol for numbing, but it is shown in a negative light.

The story doesn’t contain curse words or spice, but there is one non-consensual kiss.

Other Books in The Queen’s Thief Series

The complete Queen’s Thief series is six books, listed here in order:

The Thief
The Queen of Attolia
The King of Attolia
A Conspiracy of Kings
Thick As Thieves
Return of the Thief

This books are fabulous, and one of my favorite series of all time.

The Queen of Attolia Review Conclusion

The Queen of Attolia is a fantastic book. I’ve read it many times over the years, ever since I discovered it in high school. Much of what I say about The Thief is true for this novel as well. It delves into the complexities and paradoxes of human nature in a compelling and entertaining way. The writing, world-building, and culture are rich and alluring. You won’t want to miss this one!

If you liked this review, check out some of my reviews other reviews, including The King of Attolia, the next book in the series, Beyond, by Mercedes Lackey, and Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young.

Does this The Queen of Attolia book review inspire you to read the novel? I hope so! And if you enjoy geeking out over books, consider joining my mailing list, or hopping over to my YA Fantasy Enthusiasts Facebook page!