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Clem & Wist #3
Clematis and the Queen of the Void
"I’ve been your enemy before. I can be your enemy again."
Clematis and the Queen of the Void continues the Clem & Wist series with a horror-tinged saga of lovers to enemies (and back again). In this slow-burn f/f romance, devoted partners transform into devious adversaries—but opposition only serves to deepen their bond.
The best place to take a mage on vacation: a country without magic. As the most powerful mage in eons, Wist never gets much rest. That’s why Clematis drags her to an idyllic town in a land where all magic use has been made strictly illegal.
Charmed by the rural scenery and unusual wildlife, they initially find little cause for concern. The townspeople are welcoming, if rather eccentric. No one dwells on old rumors of vanishing mages. Or eerie myths about the local caves.
On the third day of their stay, Wist disappears without a trace. Impenetrable walls spring up around town. No one can enter, and no one can leave. The locals begin to whisper of an all-powerful and deeply beloved Queen who has ruled them for as long as anyone can remember. A magical Queen who sounds exactly like Wisteria Shien.
For reasons of her own, Wist has trapped the entire town in an eternal autumn. She won’t let time move forward, and she won’t let anyone escape her. Especially not Clem.
Yet Wist—now an invincible tyrant—might not realize that Clem needs neither magic nor allies nor even a sliver of hope to ferociously resist her rule. Truth be told, Clem has always loved having a nemesis.
The Clem & Wist Series
Prequel: No One Else Could Heal Her
Book 1: The Lowest Healer and the Highest Mage
Book 2: The Reverse Healer Case Files
Book 3: Clematis and the Queen of the Void
Book 4: Three Murdered Mages, Two Broken Bonds
Each novel revolves around the same couple. The prequel can be read at any point prior to Book 4. (The prequel and Book 1 also work as satisfying standalone stories.)
Clematis and the Queen of the Void continues the Clem & Wist series with a horror-tinged saga of lovers to enemies (and back again). In this slow-burn f/f romance, devoted partners transform into devious adversaries—but opposition only serves to deepen their bond.
The best place to take a mage on vacation: a country without magic. As the most powerful mage in eons, Wist never gets much rest. That’s why Clematis drags her to an idyllic town in a land where all magic use has been made strictly illegal.
Charmed by the rural scenery and unusual wildlife, they initially find little cause for concern. The townspeople are welcoming, if rather eccentric. No one dwells on old rumors of vanishing mages. Or eerie myths about the local caves.
On the third day of their stay, Wist disappears without a trace. Impenetrable walls spring up around town. No one can enter, and no one can leave. The locals begin to whisper of an all-powerful and deeply beloved Queen who has ruled them for as long as anyone can remember. A magical Queen who sounds exactly like Wisteria Shien.
For reasons of her own, Wist has trapped the entire town in an eternal autumn. She won’t let time move forward, and she won’t let anyone escape her. Especially not Clem.
Yet Wist—now an invincible tyrant—might not realize that Clem needs neither magic nor allies nor even a sliver of hope to ferociously resist her rule. Truth be told, Clem has always loved having a nemesis.
The Clem & Wist Series
Prequel: No One Else Could Heal Her
Book 1: The Lowest Healer and the Highest Mage
Book 2: The Reverse Healer Case Files
Book 3: Clematis and the Queen of the Void
Book 4: Three Murdered Mages, Two Broken Bonds
Each novel revolves around the same couple. The prequel can be read at any point prior to Book 4. (The prequel and Book 1 also work as satisfying standalone stories.)
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2024
30 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Hiyodori
9 books244 followersHiyodori is not a bird. But she is dearly fond of her namesake, a plain-looking brown-gray bird that likes to perch near her Tokyo apartment and unleash the most incredible primal screams. Hiyodori (the human author) loves stories with fantastical settings and complicated, difficult-to-define relationships. All of her books—including Masks Worn by Magical Wives, her latest standalone novel—take place in the same shared fantasy universe.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 28, 2024
Another amazing book by Hiyodori. Clem and Wist on another epic adventure here and is it just me or are they getting more affectionate? Well, I’m living for it. The world building is incredible. I kept picturing mangle rays flying in the sky and the peculiar town of Bittercress. The characters did not disappoint. I enjoyed the banter between the two, the interesting side characters, the “villain”, the fight scenes, etc. It was hard to put down the book and if I didn’t have other things I had to do, I would have finished it much sooner.
February 3, 2024
Currently, no series or storyteller beats Hiyodori. The author weaves together an intricate magic system and complex world building with their compelling and heart-wrenching characters. There love and yearning and angst and wonder. I have loved everything Hiyodori has written and check regularly for their spontaneous releases. To the author, I thank you for continuously putting such heart into your stories. Can’t wait for the next one!
February 13, 2024
I can consider my whole year made after reading this! The minute I saw there was a new instalment to this series I just HAD to dive in immediately. Clem and Wist are officially my favourite book couple and I was so excited to have more of them, and especially in this new setting with more elements of mystery to it.
Always a pleasure to explore more of this fantasy world, and reading about these two interacting in a way that only makes sense for them. They aren’t a very conventional couple, both in their world and in the typical world of book couples, but I absolutely love their dynamic and seeing how much closer and more affectionate they’ve become while maintaining that dynamic is so refreshing. I love how this author keeps the characters true to themselves always.
Another masterpiece by Hiyodori but I expected nothing less. Was ready to give this book 5 stars before I even read it!
Always a pleasure to explore more of this fantasy world, and reading about these two interacting in a way that only makes sense for them. They aren’t a very conventional couple, both in their world and in the typical world of book couples, but I absolutely love their dynamic and seeing how much closer and more affectionate they’ve become while maintaining that dynamic is so refreshing. I love how this author keeps the characters true to themselves always.
Another masterpiece by Hiyodori but I expected nothing less. Was ready to give this book 5 stars before I even read it!
April 16, 2024
The majority of this book is really good. A strong mystery with a very unsettling setting and characters acting in very strange ways.
It's really the final 1/4 of it or so that feels . . . tacked on? A lot of that last quarter is kind of a foregone conclusion and it just felt like a waste to read through. Drags it down a fair bit.
Also, the actual explanation for the reveal is kind of prosaic. The First and Last Demon was a better execution of that kind of twist.
It's really the final 1/4 of it or so that feels . . . tacked on? A lot of that last quarter is kind of a foregone conclusion and it just felt like a waste to read through. Drags it down a fair bit.
Also, the actual explanation for the reveal is kind of prosaic. The First and Last Demon was a better execution of that kind of twist.
August 15, 2024
I will say this, Hiyodori knows how to end a book. Everything always comes together so well. I read this one after the next one by mistake, so I had some idea of the end result, but it was still great to see how it all happened. Clem and Wist are best at tackling a challenge together but they're also a lot of fun at odds with each other, and there's some of both in this story. Well written and entertaining as always.
October 20, 2024
Best book of the series. Excitement, adventure, intrigue. I enjoyed this book and read it faster than any of the others in the series. I also love how much Clem and Wist's connection is part of and grows stronger every book.
March 16, 2024
This book stressed me out and made me cry. 5/5
September 21, 2024
Started this one kind of slowly. I’d put off reading it for a while, but just finished rereading the two that take place before it and wanted to see what came next. I honestly didn’t like Wist through much of the first half of this book. And at times I wasn’t sure how much I liked the book, which had a bit of an Alice in Wonderland (sorry, not a compliment from me!) feels to it in that things happened that made no real sense without rhyme or reason. I am a lover of character and relationship followed probably by plot before language and ending with description. So whenever those latter writing qualities start to take over the former ones I start to lose interest. This is a very personal response and is not really about a story or the writing, but just about me and what appeals to me.
Happily, Clem remains wholly and delightfully Clem, and Clem’s belief in Wist, her Wist as she says, no matter how Wist may be acting, remains strong, and so I never felt the story completely derailed away from character and cohesive plot that I couldn’t continue. I had faith that somehow, some way, we’d get to something, and my faith paid off and I fully enjoyed the second half or final third of the book and would probably enjoy all of it even more on a reread.
Even though, in many ways each of the Clem and Wist boooks can be read as standalones, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one, but again that may just be me.
Spoilers below this point:
This book did leave me with some questions, like what happens to/in Manglekand now, and what happens eventually when Clem dies? Since these are/would be problems-for-another-day questions in real life if we all lived in the world of Clem and Wist, I don’t see it as inherently bad or wrong that they’re up in the air here. It sort of begs the question though that the path to the solution in the book was done when and how it was done in order to prevent or head off future problems, but the solution they come to is time limited.
Ha! I forgot to actually rate this book and had to come back. Solidly either four or five stars. Ha! I thought I’d be more clear on that by the end of writing the review, but I’m not, so 4.5, I suppose?
Happily, Clem remains wholly and delightfully Clem, and Clem’s belief in Wist, her Wist as she says, no matter how Wist may be acting, remains strong, and so I never felt the story completely derailed away from character and cohesive plot that I couldn’t continue. I had faith that somehow, some way, we’d get to something, and my faith paid off and I fully enjoyed the second half or final third of the book and would probably enjoy all of it even more on a reread.
Even though, in many ways each of the Clem and Wist boooks can be read as standalones, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one, but again that may just be me.
Spoilers below this point:
This book did leave me with some questions, like what happens to/in Manglekand now, and what happens eventually when Clem dies? Since these are/would be problems-for-another-day questions in real life if we all lived in the world of Clem and Wist, I don’t see it as inherently bad or wrong that they’re up in the air here. It sort of begs the question though that the path to the solution in the book was done when and how it was done in order to prevent or head off future problems, but the solution they come to is time limited.
Ha! I forgot to actually rate this book and had to come back. Solidly either four or five stars. Ha! I thought I’d be more clear on that by the end of writing the review, but I’m not, so 4.5, I suppose?
March 31, 2024
The plot in this book was interesting but confusing; I spent 50% of the book confused about most of it, but everything gets explained and tied up pretty neatly by the end, which I like. Next, while the quality of writing was just as great as the other books in this series, there was too much air time spent detailing Clem’s inane, irrelevant thoughts. The book drags as a result, and could have been pages shorter. My main gripe is with the fact that Clem is so childish, especially considering she supposed to be in her mid 30s. It also might have been better to have Wist’s pov to give credence to the fact that the series title has her namesake, which suggests she’s an important character, but no. Wist might as well not part of the story at all, if not for the fact that she’s really powerful and will save the day after experiencing unbelievable torture. That got old fast — again they are adults, and my expectations are higher for how both characters would handle these conflicts. There’s a recurring theme across the series, where Wist’s chosen resolution is blind self-sacrifice, but since Wist is so powerful, I can’t help but wonder if that is truly the only way she can think to handle some of the things she and Clem face in this whole series. The idea of an all powerful, undefeatable MC is cool, but I’d prefer more of the showing and less of the telling. Lastly, I came for a romantasy, and at BEST, got friends who it is implied might kiss sometimes, and at WORST, I got a sidekick/superhero relationship, except the story is told from the sidekicks perspective… and the sidekick is a purportedly 34-35 year old woman who acts like teenager.
January 14, 2024
I found out today that this was out. And I did nothing but lay in bed and finish it -- breakfast be damned.
As always I love the prose, that we have more and more of Clem and Wist to see. This is one of the few series where on re-reads I find more and more of each character to discover.
Admittedly this felt like a short one. Perhaps because it was a single happening or 'mystery'.
I would in hindsight read it before The First and Last Demon because my dang memory managed to figure out what was going to happen due to details therein. It's a testament to the writing that this did only very little to detract from how much I enjoyed this entry.
More from Hiyodori please! Highest praise from me!
Anyways back to rereading Lowest Healer/Highest Mage...
(PS: I need this out in print now!!!!!!!!!!)
As always I love the prose, that we have more and more of Clem and Wist to see. This is one of the few series where on re-reads I find more and more of each character to discover.
Admittedly this felt like a short one. Perhaps because it was a single happening or 'mystery'.
I would in hindsight read it before The First and Last Demon because my dang memory managed to figure out what was going to happen due to details therein. It's a testament to the writing that this did only very little to detract from how much I enjoyed this entry.
More from Hiyodori please! Highest praise from me!
Anyways back to rereading Lowest Healer/Highest Mage...
(PS: I need this out in print now!!!!!!!!!!)
June 4, 2025
This is a tough one to rate and review. I really struggled with the middle of this. It took me six months — SIX MONTHS! — to finish this book while I just sped through the others in the Clem & Wist series before this. Yet by the time the end rolled around, I was crying for everything Wist had gone through. I don't know! This is definitely a departure from the rest of the series prior, and that worked in some ways and was a slog in others. Still, I feel deeply emotional about Clem & Wist. Some of the lesbians of all time. (I can't believe an entire plot point of this book hinged on Clem not paying attention to what men look like. Girl same — her most relatable moment, honestly.)
January 22, 2025
4/5
Clematis and the Queen of the Void is a brilliantly executed eerie village mystery with world-ending stakes, time distortions, and eldritch horror. Hiyodori’s ability to set the tone through prose, descriptions, and world-building shines in this novel. My only complaint is that Wist really got the short end of the stick here, and the poor woman should not have had to go through all that! I also think that Clem and Wist work just that much better when they are forced to interact with each other rather than forced apart.
Clematis and the Queen of the Void is a brilliantly executed eerie village mystery with world-ending stakes, time distortions, and eldritch horror. Hiyodori’s ability to set the tone through prose, descriptions, and world-building shines in this novel. My only complaint is that Wist really got the short end of the stick here, and the poor woman should not have had to go through all that! I also think that Clem and Wist work just that much better when they are forced to interact with each other rather than forced apart.
March 2, 2025
I love these books and these characters and this world! Clem and Wist had another amazing, magical (and sometimes horrifying) adventure and I couldn't have been happier about it. I could talk about the plot, but I don't want to spoil anything because it's best to go in blind so I'll just say that Clem and Wist's relationship remains one of the most complicated, layered, devoted, baffling, loving relationships I've ever read about and I can't wait to keep reading about them and their strange but wonderful world.
June 19, 2025
Perhaps my favorite in the Clem & Wist series so far. The concept is creepy and self contained, and the mysteries of the town and Wist's actions unwind little by little. My only complaint would be that Wist spending so much of the book as "Queen of the Void" diminishes her amount of page time and how well you can understand what's going on with her for certain parts of the book. Certainly that adds tension and mystery, but I love Wist and I always want to see as much of her as possible <3
March 4, 2024
EACH one of Hiyodori's books leaves me in tears, every single one at least once will make me cry.
Queen of the Void, was special; I had tears in my eyes for most of it and couldn't figure out why.
I love these characters, so much. The Prequel book should definitely be read first in my opinion, but I love this series and I will always want more of Clem and Wist.
Queen of the Void, was special; I had tears in my eyes for most of it and couldn't figure out why.
I love these characters, so much. The Prequel book should definitely be read first in my opinion, but I love this series and I will always want more of Clem and Wist.
April 12, 2024
♥️
Sincerely enjoyed all three of these books. The world building is incredibly well done, and I am currently thinking about using it to build a 5e homebrew for some friends.
I adore Wist in all forms, I'm not crazy about Clem, but I love that she never passes herself off as a good person.
Looking forward to reading more books in this universe.
Sincerely enjoyed all three of these books. The world building is incredibly well done, and I am currently thinking about using it to build a 5e homebrew for some friends.
I adore Wist in all forms, I'm not crazy about Clem, but I love that she never passes herself off as a good person.
Looking forward to reading more books in this universe.
September 4, 2024
I didn’t hate it, but it was much longer than it needed to be. I feel like there was too much time spent in the middle of the book that took away the quality of writing for the big reveal/explanation. It felt like I was having to do a little bit of guesswork and assumption to figure out what actually happened. Either way, Iiked the storyline and it was quite an adventure for Wist and Clem!
August 26, 2025
Very interesting plot, but not my favorite execution. I would loved than more than the whodunit/mystery part, the implications of the reveal were explored a bit more.
On a side note, this image for some reason gave me a lot of fluffy feelings:
On a side note, this image for some reason gave me a lot of fluffy feelings:
For every item we bought to gift friends in Osmanthus, Wist got a duplicate for me to hoard for myself.
January 9, 2025
Probably my least favorite of the series. Great ideas, but found the story a little lacking. Even more than previous books, it's a lot of the characters just explaining what's going on. Still, can't give this author less than 3 stars though.
February 6, 2025
rip evil wisteria you would've loved aquamarine
(this might be my new favourite book in the series so far which is a crazy thing to say bc the prequel literally changed the shape and structure of every molecule in my body)
(this might be my new favourite book in the series so far which is a crazy thing to say bc the prequel literally changed the shape and structure of every molecule in my body)
May 30, 2025
4.6 - I struggled a bit with this book because the previous two were so expensive and introduced us to new characters and plot twists. However, once I settled in, I began to appreciate this book as a more intimate examination of Clem and Wist dynamics and really enjoyed it.
April 28, 2025
evil Wisteria you will be missed
February 1, 2024
Thank you! I’ve been bouncing in my seat, waiting for more Clem/Wist adventures. The wait was worth it. It was fun discovering another country. The new animal species were interesting. But my favorite part about this story, was seeing the growth of the two main characters. In the past few books, they’ve been healing their relationship. It was nice to see them growing and working as a team. They interacted in a way that only two people who’ve known each other for decades could pull off.
July 27, 2025
clem seeing wist: ariana_grande_dangerous_woman.mp3
wist seeing clem:
rtc but i adore these weirdos so very much and by god i really did my best to make these four books stretch out as much as i could, but i could easily read another six books about their hilariously absurd antics
wist seeing clem:
rtc but i adore these weirdos so very much and by god i really did my best to make these four books stretch out as much as i could, but i could easily read another six books about their hilariously absurd antics
August 27, 2024
Unpleasant with no redeeming aspect. Contains horror, long running torture (physical and psychological) and mutilation. I felt nothing for either of the two protagonists. They fear one another, and yet the author classifies this as romance. I feel sorry for anyone who thinks this is romance.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews