Review: The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon (The Bird and the Sword #2)

The Queen and the Cure (The Bird and the Sword #2)
Amy Harmon
Published: May 9, 2017 (Amy Harmon)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference the previous book. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, The Bird and the Sword.

It’s been two years since the defeat of former King Zoltev and the birdlike Volgar he created. Kjell, Captain of the Guard and brother to King Tiras of Jeru, has been traveling through the land with his men cutting down any remaining groups of the Volgar that may still threaten the lands of Jeru, as well as assessing how those in the far reaches of the kingdom fare. Ever since his Gift of Healing was revealed to him, he’s valued his time away from the court as well as appreciated an excuse to get some of his tension out with a good fight. When he and his men come across a severely wounded woman, Kjell’s newfound healing skills are put to the test.

Sasha was but a slave woman with a Gift for Seeing. Run out of her village after she tried to help with her Gift, she was on the brink of death when Kjell found her and saved her life. What Kjell didn’t know beforehand is that Sasha has already seen Kjell in many of her visions throughout the years. She knows that he is destined to play a part in things to come, but Kjell is not as quick to believe he’s anything more than a warrior who can also heal.

I loved how The Queen and the Cure picks up, while not exactly right after events in the first book, still highlighting that fact that just because the threat has, more or less, been thwarted, there’s still rebuilding and growing that needs to happen throughout the kingdom. We see firsthand the stark contrast in the world after the reign of the Volgar as opposed to how things were flourishing before.

Kjell’s job as Captain of the Guard gives great opportunity for us to see more of the land of Jeru instead of mainly seeing the seat of the castle as we did in the first book, and I liked that the world expanded, so to speak, in this book.

Whereas in the first book, I was pretty much immediately on board with the slow burn romance that formed between Tiras and Lark, I was not so sure with Kjell and Sasha. I didn’t feel the weight of the time passage that was supposed to have happened from when Kjell first encounters Sasha to when they fall for one another.

Of course, as I learned while reading, their relationship does not hinge upon those first moments. Instead Amy Harmon throws somewhat of a curveball at us readers by giving Kjell and Sasha quite the obstacle to them getting their Happily-Ever-After. It’s in those moments where you can see what devotion lies between them. Of course, I’m not going to give anything away, but I loved that their romance didn’t follow the normal path I had initially prescribed to them.

While I didn’t take to this book as quickly as the first book, I still really enjoyed the story. I loved the idea of what we grow up knowing of ourselves is not necessarily all there is to us, as Kjell surely finds out. This is an excellent series for those who want more romance in their light fantasy reads.

Sexual content: sex