Review: The Lost Queen by Jenn Stark (Wilde Justice #2)

The Lost Queen (Wilde Justice #2)
Jenn Stark
Published: Dec. 27, 2018 (Elewyn Publishing)
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free it will reference events from the previous book The Red King (VBC review) and also the Immortal Vegas series (VBC review of book 1, Getting Wilde).

Sara Wilde has a lot of ground to cover as she continues to learn her role as Justice for the Arcana Council. While sorting through various petitions, she comes across a prophecy set to re-fulfill itself every 28 years: the spirit of an ancient witch embodies a chosen vessel from a chosen coven, forcing her to take a consort that will subjugate her to myriad horrors before ultimately granting her (and subsequently her coven) an extreme surge in power.

This time around, however, the potential consorts keep winding up dead. Sara will have to tap into some newfound powers if she wants to prevent her Magician from becoming the next victim.

If The Red King set us off on a new series/story arc for Sara, The Lost Queen just felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s so clear cut with its intentions, but packs a punch when it comes to continuing character depth.

I’ve loved watching Sara navigate her way through all the various setups and situations in which she finds herself, and here is no different. The thing is, Sara has only scratched the surface of her potential and what her magic can do. It’s a constant learning curve for her, and The Lost Queen definitely gives Sara more to work with, and I’m excited to see these new things translate over into future books.

I also enjoyed getting a closer look into the covens. As noted throughout, there’s a lot about the witches that Sara doesn’t understand. Yes, she’s had interactions with them, but the structure and the hierarchy of the covens was particularly interesting, and clearly something in which Sara needed to brush up.

Then there’s, as always, Sara and Armaeus. I don’t know how I can continue to have more to gush about with these two, but each time Jenn Stark seems to just give me more and more. I love how she’s maintained the balance between their growing relationship and feelings for one another with the still often mysterious motivations surrounding The Magician’s actions. The Lost Queen really gives us some great, meaningful moments between these two.

The Lost Queen also has the distinction, at this point at least, of having my favorite endings of both series. The ending was fabulous and Jenn Stark did a great job of conveying a lot in that limited space, while also setting up implications for future stories, which was the most intriguing thing of all. I’ll excitedly follow Sara Wilde on her next adventures, wherever they may take her.

Sexual content: sex