The War of Two Queens

Always have a love-hate relationship with these series, a too long series with big books when other series of the author are great and are less dense, but I really like Poppy and Cas and now... I don't want to read the book, I saw enough about what happens and this is so sad. I understand why ppl are mad and disappointed.

7/5 because this was better than perfect

I cannot believe how good this book is. I'm not joking when I say 7/5 because it was so unbelievable. The only other book it compares to is Empire of Storms and honestly they're both probably equal for me. This might be my new favorite book, and def is a new fav series for me

The people who gave this one star because of the joining, have not been paying attention to the series as a whole. The joining has been on the horizon since early on and the impending intimacy for the three mains is not in the least bit surprising. It was done well and could have been like 3 chapters longer for me tbh. The ending of this one was fantastic. It's not my favorite of the series, but I'm not mad. This is classic for the genre it belongs to. I can't wait until the next one is released. Also, for those that are putting down middle-aged women readers, we are the market babes. For almost every genre of reading. It's us.

I think this was definitely the best in the series so far, especially in sorting out the pacing and expanding on the plot and world.

I will say that she has so many characters, lots of which have similar names and ‘roles' as such, that it can be a bit confusing and I kept having to think who was who between people like Nytkos and Nektas....really, you couldn't make those a smidge more different?!

And of course, nobody can review this book without mentioning The Joining. I have no idea why it's received so much hate, it makes absolutely no sense to me. It was foreshadowed WAY before it happened and it makes sense as part of the larger plot with the curse and their relationship and so on. So just get over it people, it's done.

I wanted to like this so bad! The first 2 books had me fired up!!! I read them both in lile 2 weeks. The 3rd is where I lost interest. It was so over the top and slap-dashed together. I almosted DNF'd it but forced myself to finish. I had to get the audible version to get through it and it was still a journey. It's a good series but I probably read it completely again.

If you are reading this review, you'll probably have read some others and already know there is a lot of criticism about this book.

I am disappointed with the readers behaviour. Everyone is entitled to like or dislike the books. What is not right is to disrespect people who may like them, let alone the writer.

This series is not a masterpiece of fantasy literature, but it entertains a lot and accomplishes all the goals it sets out to. It also demonstrates hard work and commitment by Jennifer L. Armentrout that should be appreciated.

It is unbelievable that age, gender, sexuality, and parental status are being used to attack the readers. It is nothing they can change and has nothing to do with their personal taste.

The number of misogynistic comments in the reviews is abominable, especially considering that most, if not all, come from women.
Let's be honest, this is not and will never be a Nobel or a Pulitzer prize. You are here because you like the romance, and you are already well aware that it will involve sex (which you probably like as well).

I do not understand how the Joining came as a surprise to some of the readers. Jennifer has been hinting since the first book that the relationship between Poppy, Cas and Kieran is different and charged with sexual tension (besides the frequent mentions to the joining, threesomes etc):
- Poppy keeps staring and Kieran naked and Cas is not only ok with than but intrigued.
- Kieran watched Poppy bath and said Cas wouldn't mind and would be intrigued.
- They all slept tangled up, turning to Cas as if he was a magnet.
- Cas trapped Poppy and Kieran on the wall while feeding.
- Kieran stayed in the room while Poppy fed from Cas and while they had sex.
- Kieran said that his bond with Cas would always be special, they just made room for her.
- Poppy watched while Kieran was getting head and Cas touched her.
- Everyone keeps mentioning how Kieran is good for them both.
- Several mentions about how intrigued they all are with each other.
- The touching between them has been increasing since the first book.

My complaint regarding this specific scene is that I feel Jennifer was afraid of the readers reaction and ended up creating something too vague.

Moving on to the actual book... I think Jennifer has been doing a good work with the world building, and I especially appreciate the connection with Niktos and Seraphena story.

I've found the pacing of this book a bit off. I enjoyed the pace until Poppy found Cas, as it gave time to see the characters and the war developing. Unfortunately, the end felt a bit rushed. There are a lot of things happening and less time to absorb it all.

My major criticism regarding the whole series is the character development. I liked Cas on the first two books but his ARC has been inversely proportional to Poppy powers and character development. I was convinced Cas POV chapters would help building more layers to his personality, but I didn't see it happening yet. I hope Jennifer will keep writing Cas POV and developing his personality beyond what he feels for Poppy.
Poppy is a Mary Sue, which is something I hate. Despite her increasing powers, Poppy grew up very secluded and it will be natural to need more time to adjust to her new life as well as more support to make decisions, especially when it concerns to politics and war.
Kieran is my favourite character and I want to continue see his growth (beyond the relationship and feelings for Poppy and Cas).

I hope Jennifer doesn't give in to pressure and keep developing the throuple.
I will keep reading her books as I like the writing, the world building, and I see potential on the stories. I hope Jennifer will be able to find the sweet spot between adventure, politics and romance.

poppy and kieran both love cas so much they'll flirt and elevate their friendship into something more while he's getting tortured <3

also poppy knows her HEART MATE and love of her life sooo well that she can't tell him apart from his best friend during sex. for a book that was so descriptive with smut, we get a whole lot of nothing with the joining.

JLA should've stuck to a trilogy and hired a competent editor. glad i didn't pay for this trash. book has less planning for plot than the star wars sequel trilogy, i find that incredible.

This book was fine. On par with the last one. The world building is personally a little complicated for me and I'm not a huge fan of couples being separated for long amounts of time but it wasn't a dealbreaker.

For everyone upset about THAT particular scene. It has been very obvious since book two that this was where things were headed. It should not be a surprise. I get that it's not everyone's cup of tea but at the end of the day this was how the author planned for the plot to go. If anything, abandoning it at this point because people didn't want it is more fan service than writing a scene that was clearly planned from the start.

The length of this series seems so unnecessary. We don't need fantasies to be 7 part, 600+ page series. So much has not happened at 54% of the way through, like could we get to it 😭 I like the characters, so maybe I'll pick it up again one day but this book ended the series for me. So so long and for what.