Review: The Queens Resistance (The Queen’s Rising #2)

The Queen’s Resistance, Book 2 in The Queens Rising Duology by Rebecca Ross

Published By: Harper Collins
Publication Date: March 7, 2019
Date Read: May 17, 2026
Genre: YA – Fantasy / Romantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 352

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The epic sequel to THE QUEEN’S RISING: a tale of love, rebellion, alliance and betrayal, from the extraordinary Sunday Times and New York Times number-one-bestselling author of DIVINE RIVALS. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J Maas and Shelby Mahurin.

Brienna and her new family have restored the rightful queen to the throne of Maevana. Now begins the difficult task of uniting the land’s fourteen proud, rebellious houses – and ensuring justice is served to the Lannons, the tyrannical monarchs who ruled over Maevana for so many years.

Brienna is fast becoming Queen Isolde’s most trusted counsellor; and with every day, the love she shares with Cartier deepens. But there are those who do not accept Brienna, unable to see beyond her past, while some remain faithful to the Lannons and would do anything to tear the new queen down. And when Brienna discovers the true, shocking identity of someone within the castle, it threatens everything she holds dear . . .

Warning: Mild spoilers for the first book, The Queen’s Rising included in this review.

2026 is the year I decided to make my way through Rebecca Ross’ backlist. I’m not usually a binge reader, but after finishing the first book in The Queen’s Rising duology, I couldn’t help but dive straight into the second book. I am so glad that I did, as this book was absolutely fantastic. It’s very rare that I enjoy both books in a duology the same amount, but this is one of those cases. The Queen’s Resistance was just as good as the first book, and I absolutely loved it.

One thing I absolutely adored about this series is that it is so unique to other YA Fantasy series. In the first book, I absolutely loved that the FMC, who I thought would be the long lost queen actually wasn’t, but just someone integral to helping the queen. I found that super unique as I feel like so many YA fantasy books have the FMC as the main, powerful character. I found it so refreshing that in this case, she was not. This book continued with the uniqueness, as the first book ends with the resistance actually winning the battle, and removing the usurper king. That left us able to explore what happens after an uprising in this book. I absolutely loved this, as I find it really unique for a fantasy book. I feel like the majority of fantasy books has the revolution winning the battle near the end of the series, and while we may get a chapter or two of ‘after’ we don’t see very much of that. So I really enjoyed it happening so early in this series as we got to see ‘what happened next’. In fantasy series I’m always left wondering what happened after they won the battle, and The Queen’s Resistance left us with a lot of things to explore. It was unique and fantastic.

This entire duology has just been wonderful! While there is a romance plotline threaded throughout this series, I will say that the plot and the storyline is the focus, and I loved that. While I do enjoy a good romantasy book, I’m always wanting more plotline than anything and that’s exactly what I got here. The plot is so strong in this book, I truly couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved everything about this amazing series, and Rebecca Ross has once again cemented herself at the top of my ‘favourite author’ lists. There is nothing this woman could write that I don’t love. If you haven’t read anything by her yet, let this be your sign to go read some of her work immediately!

The Queen’s Resistance was the perfect follow up to The Queen’s Rising. I loved everything about both books, and this is definitely one of my favourite YA Fantasy series. It was truly fantastic, and I cannot praise it enough. If you’re a fan of all things YA, fantasy and romantasy then I urge you to give this one a go. I promise you won’t be disappointed. It’s truly fantastic, and deserves a lot more hype than it gets. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of Rebecca’s work.