Thankfully, the mystery of the prophecies surrounding Elli, plus the different characters and relationships that come into the story, are enough to keep you reading through the novel's slower parts.Įlli is a likable, flawed heroine. 430 pages is fairly average for a YA fantasy and yet it feels longer at times, moving from fast-paced 'oh my god, what's going to happen?' scenes to long, slow, character-driven chapters. The pacing issues are really my only criticism for this book. This book is about what it's like to discover that you are not what you thought you were - and that people want to kill you for it.

and suddenly have that destiny ripped out from underneath you. This book, while brimming with magic, prophecies, friendship and betrayal, is really about what it's like to have a destiny, to be the 'chosen one' your whole life, to prepare yourself to be queen and one of the strongest magic wielders that ever lived. The Impostor Queen occasionally suffers from uneven pacing, but it more than makes up for it with a bloody, well-written combination of fire and ice. They call us queens, but what we really are is servants.'ģ 1/2 stars. We don't use it to protect ourselves - we use it only to protect the Kupari. 'We are only the caretakers of this magic. 'Our lives aren't ours, darling,' she murmured. But as war looms, she must choose the right side before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

Torn between her love for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny.

It’s nowhere to be found.ĭisgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, home of banished criminals-some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. The only life Elli has known has been in the temple, surrounded by luxury, tutored by magic-wielding priests, preparing for the day when the queen perishes-and the ice and fire find a new home in Elli, who is prophesied to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.īut when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. Sixteen-year-old Elli was only a child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic in service of her people.

The impostor queen