The Burning Queen

The Ravence Trilogy #2

by Aparna Verma

"So what will you become, Elena? Villain, hero, or conqueror?"

Ravence has fallen. Her enemies have ravaged her people. And now Elena Aadya Ravence must decide how far she will go to reap her revenge. As she is pulled into a bitter war that will decide the fate of her kingdom, a new tyrant rises to reclaim his home, and Elena finds that perhaps her hunger isn't enough.

And his knows no bounds.

In the thrilling sequel to The Phoenix King, deadly secrets are uncovered, new alliances are forged, and an exiled princess will rise from the ashes of the old world as the burning queen.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Epic Fantasy

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2025

About the author

Aparna Verma is the author of fantasy and sci-fi books, including The Ravence Trilogy. She graduated from Stanford University with Honors in the Arts and a B.A. in English. In 2021, she self-published The Boy with Fire, which was later republished by Orbit Books as The Phoenix King in 2023.

When she is not writing, Aparna likes to lift heavy (arm days are her favorite), dance to Bollywood music, and find cozy cafes to read myths from ancient worlds. You can connect with Aparna on TikTok at @aparnawrites, and Twitter and Instagram at @spirited_gal.

Reviews

[❋Rushna❋]

Can’t wait to see my girl Elena rage to her heart’s content🥰

[Sobbin’ Scenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys this is so serious I don’t know what to do with myself after reading this, this series has evolved in a way that makes so much sense but was also amazingly unexpected and I WANT MORE
(There was a lot of rage, court-politics and magic and AAAAA proper RTC)

Thank you Aparna for providing an ARC of this lovely book!

[Camilla Cambone-Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got my very first ARC with this book and really enjoyed the ride!! Truly felt the world expand with the second book and THE ENDING!!! Sheesh!!! I thought the second book would cure my itch, NOPE. I need the third book tomorrow 😩

My only thought is I didn’t feel as if the rage was there like the book was being marketed as. I felt like the FMC was more ruthless and angrier in the first book.

[quietpageturner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book picked up immediately after book one, with the stakes being higher and the “magic” being more epic!
I enjoyed the prose at the beginning of each chapter because it set the tone for what the author would lay out.
The world building is so vast and the author’s words flow seamlessl. Though this book was lengthy, I devoured it within a week! My attention was captured from page one and I really enjoyed The Phoenix King’s recap at the very beginning. Book recaps should be mandatory in fantasy series.
My only con is I feel like Elena didn’t rage as much as she should’ve. In my opinion, she was angrier and steadfast in book one than in book two. Despite this, I’m still eager and excited to read the conclusion of this series!

[Allison Brame · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as an ARC and could barely put it down. From the first chapter I was gripped by the political intrigue, the magic system and way the characters evolved throughout. Aparna does an incredible job of taking the story she began in The Phoenix King and furthering it into one of my favorite series. I can’t wait to reread this and catch all the little nuances that I’m certain I missed while devouring this book the first time.

[amanda durante · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book and honestly all I can say right now is just… wow. lol I need to gather my thoughts 😂


Shoutout to netgalley for the ARC 🫶🏻

[Serena]

According to a thread by the author it will have preorder art cards from Ngoc Nguyen; it was noted that "the hero" was inspired by art found by the author apparently from 'a unknown artist' which I recognized from tumblr as user wwifihunters, hopefully they get an acknowledgement.

[Satviki · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Burning Queen, Aparna Verma has woven an epic tale about vengeance and overcoming tragedy.

There are just so many things to love about TBQ! The emotions, the characters, and the cultures. Not to mention the story itself. Let's start with the emotions.

We mainly get to experience the story from the POVs of Elena and Samson, who are very, very emotional characters. They are full, absolutely full, of grief and rage. However, those dark emotions just make the lighter moments shine that much brighter. No matter how beautiful (or at least powerful) the emotions were, they would not land as hard without the lovely development of the characters.

The characters had clear motivations and desires, all of which made them more compelling. Plus, their decisions made sense considering their experiences and wants. Take Elena as an example, her desire to free Ravence and be seen as true queen contributed to a lot of her actions. And Samson, whose desire to avoid being a servant to anyone ever again contributed to his actions. The characters were also products of their environments. The cultures they grew up in shaped them in noticable ways, the same way we are shaped by our culture.

The cultures of the various kingdoms were quite interesting. The culture of Ravence, with it's almost blind faith in the Phoenix. The culture of Jantari and it's obsession with superiority and metal. The Great Serpent being prominent in Seshar's culture. All these cultures played a part in the story, with their respective beliefs being impactful on different characters. Mixed in the worldbuilding and characters were several intriguing themes. Some such themes were about the nature of faith, along with the evils of colonization and inaction. These themes were woven into how the various characters viewed the kingdoms very well, though I don't believe the author was preachy.

All in all, there is simply so much to love about The Burning Queen. Readers looking for a wonderful tale about love and burning rage, vengeance and all consuming grief, mixed in with lush worldbuilding and 3 dimensional characters, then TBQ is perfect!

Biggest thanks to the author, Orbit, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.

[Kylee (themoodylibrary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

orbit--i owe you the world for allowing me to read this one early!! thank u, thank u, thank u.

absolutely no one is shocked that i devoured THE BURNING QUEEN. i’ve been counting down the days since finishing THE PHOENIX KING (which easily made my list of 2024 faves).

this sequel picks up right where we left off: ravence has fallen, everything is in shambles, and elena is standing in the middle of the wreckage trying to figure out what the hell to do next. grief, betrayal, rage are all here, and it’s all heavy.

while the burning queen has a bit more plot momentum than book one, it still leans into being beautifully, brutally character-driven, and these characters have my whole heart. i was grieving with them, yearning with them, furious on their behalf, and yelling at the pages like “no actually don’t do that” and then immediately understanding why they did (most of the time). verma writes them with such nuance, especially in the way she lets them sit in their pain and anger and not always respond in the right way. it’s messy. it’s real. it hurts. *pulls out screenshot of me screaming "I'M IN PAIN" to the discord group after finishing a chapter*

elena’s arc continues to be so compelling. she’s grappling with her agni, trying to piece together who she can trust, and most of all, she’s out for revenge. i loved getting deeper into the political web she’s navigating, and the added POV brought a fresh, needed lens to everything falling apart (maybe falling together?) behind the scenes.

this book is darker. it’s twistier. it’s full of sharp turns and gut-punches. like with TPK, the ending left me dying for book 3. THE BURNING QUEEN more than lived up to the hype i made for it in my head, and i truly had the BEST time with my delusional theories while reading.

[Abigail Books Addiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

What. The. Hell. Why would you do this to me, Aparna Verma? And to other readers as well? Why would you betray me with that major yet devastating cliffhanger in The Burning Queen? I don't know how to recover. How can I recover, Aparna Verma? Like, how? How?

Besides my endless rant regarding the cliffhanger, I literally devoured this book! Seriously, I couldn't stop reading it from the first page. I needed to keep on going until I finished this book. There were so many things happening.

I don't know where to start, but I have a few things to say. First, you need to read the first book in the series before starting The Burning Queen, which is the second book in the series. Second, don't worry if you forgot about a few details. Aparna Verma was amazing to include a brief recap on The Phoenix King events before chapter one of The Burning Queen. Third, there are endless betrayals throughout the book that will leave you gasping for air or saying 'what the hell" many times. Fourth, I absolutely love how ruthless Elena is becoming because none of them give a damn about her country or how her father was killed. No one does. Fifth, I am still grieving just as Elena and Samson are grieving regarding Yassen's demise in the first book. It's still an endless process between Elena and Samson. Lastly, I still don't know how to feel, but I am not liking Samson's actions with Elena. His endless betrayals, sneaky ways, and audacity to be a hypocrite when Elena tries to be as ruthless as he is know no bounds at all. Excuse me, sir. I always support a morally grey woman all the way. Elena has rights and wrongs, all the way!

[Jireh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this ARC last week, and I absolutely cannot wait for the third and final book! It’s already my most anticipated read of whatever year it releases.

THE BURNING QUEEN is a tale of fallen kingdoms, lost love, a ruthless butcher fighting for his people’s freedom, an exiled queen reckoning with the price of reclaiming her legacy, and ancient gods of fire, and this second installment in The Ravence Trilogy is—in the best way possible—messy, toxic, and exhilarating. There’s something for everybody in this adult fantasy: the action scenes are visceral and intense, the politics sharp and relevant, the dynamic between the leads is electric (regardless of where you end up on the shipping front), and the lore about ancient magic and the gods run so deep that the world feels fully realized.

Elena is the star of this one, and watching her descent (or rise, depending on how you look at it) as she contends with an unjust world is both amazing and terrifying, her feminine rage empowering, but also leaves you wondering if corruption and ruin is a truly satisfying end point.

But even in a story that continually asks the characters: “How far would you go to achieve your goal?” and exposes the ugliest parts of a human being’s desire, my favorite passages are the meditations on grief and the marks that the people loved and lost leave on a person, and I’m so glad that the author not only gives the story that space but gives it weight in a way that the loss feels palpable and important, as it is in real life. That, for me, makes this a very special story indeed.

Thank you to Aparna Verma and Orbit Books for the eARC!

[Paul Mcguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Orbit books and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The Burning Queen is a sequel to The Phoenix King and focuses most of the plot on Elena and Samson and their relationship as they fight to reclaim their kingdoms. The first half of the book focuses on their efforts to unlock their full potential and their agni powers. It was refreshing because while there were switches in points of view they were usually close together.

The plot takes multiple twists along the way, many I didn't see coming. The plot could have used a little more direction but overall I enjoyed the ending, which sets things up for the third book. There is a particular exciting reveal at the end I enjoyed. This is one of the rare recent books that felt like it could have been longer.

Anyone who has been in an abusive relationship might not want to read this because Elena and Samson are both terrible people at times in how they treat each other. I found it fascinating having main characters that are arguably villains. Though there is a political plot the romance is a big part of it. The book never gets explicitly spicy.

For those who haven't read the first book, this series is fantasy but with somewhat modern technology like guns and planes. It still feels more fantasy than science fiction to me. The main characters focus more on their magic than using guns though. I had forgotten about the guns so it was a little surprising when they showed up. Overall I am satisfied and excited to read the last book.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Burning Queen is the sequel to The Phoenix King, an epic fantasy inspired by Indian culture and mythology that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and mythology. The sequel really expands on the world and the politics of the first book, taking the reader outside of Ravence and the exploring many new areas, countries, and political systems.

I enjoyed TPK, though I thought it was fairly predictable and expected more romance from it given that the marketing for this book seemed to focus on the relationship between Yassen and Elena so strongly. I went in to book 2 expecting something very similar, and was surprised by the way it expanded the world and cast of characters. That said, I think this book may have gone the other way and attempted to do too much. It was difficult to keep all of the characters and plot threads straight in this book, and while the plot twists were numerous, they also sometimes fell into the trap of happening too frequently.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. It is obvious that Verma's writing has improved since her debut novel, and on a prose level her writing is gorgeous and very descriptive. I never struggle to picture what was being described or what the characters were seeing. I also enjoyed the developments between Samson and Elena and how their relationship twisted and changed over the course of the story.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Burning Queen is a powerful sequel to The Phoenix King. Building on the world building and character development in the first book it takes us further into this world and expands it for those of us who were excited to see more. The story is mostly told through the perspectives of Elena and Samson. Themes of revenge and control of power burn at the center of this middle book of a trilogy and fuel the characters. There is fight in Elena and a fight within Elena, who wants to reclaim all that she has lost and yet a parts of her still resist the means being justified by the ends. It is also interesting to see the dynamics between the characters, so different than those in the first book. This book is darker, more conflict-ridden, and teeming with political power plays. And, like the first book of the series, it ends in a cliffhanger that absolutely compels you to want the next book.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC!

After reading The Phoenix King this one was one of my anticipated releases, but unfortunately it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I felt like this one suffered a bit from middle book syndrome. Some of the issues I had with the first book were the odd transitions or lack thereof between scenes and gaps in the fantasy world building, which continued in this installment. Coupled with the additional plot points and characters that appeared with very little introduction made the plot a bit convoluted and difficult to follow.

Although I still really liked Elena and Samson as characters, I wasn't as invested in their dynamic as I was in the first book. I felt the strongest part of this book was the political intrigue and power struggle in the world. I do think that Verma's ideas are really interesting but for me the execution just fell a bit short. However, I still enjoyed this enough and that ending got me excited for the conclusion of this series.

[C. S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot to like in this book and this series. I like fantasy series that get deep into the political aspect of the worlds, rather than just focusing on magic or romance. This one is very political, and I enjoyed that part of the book immensely. It's also very well written - no obvious issues with grammar or language that can pull you out of a narrative.

But... there's a lot of violence and after a while, I got overwhelmed by all the bleeding and broken bones and people being burnt. People also seemed to heal rather quickly, only to get beaten again a few pages later. The relationship between the 2 main characters in this book felt really gross, too. So much abuse, mostly physical, and more from the male character to the female character, which was kind of gross to read. But somehow they are also in love? But she loves the other guy from that last book too? It was all a bit much.

So, yeah. Mixed feelings about this one. Not entirely sure I'll keep up with the series.

[Amanda H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is one of my all-time favourites and it just keeps getting better!

The series loves easter eggs, betrayals, female rage and making its readers cry, and honestly - I'm here for it. As my most anticipated book of the year (I preordered this book halfway through reading the first of the series, The Phoenix Kind), it did not disappoint in the slightest!

The lengths our FMC and MMC are willing to go to for their own cause are ever-evolving - the line in the sand is constantly shifting. The character arc both our main characters find themselves in is GREAT, but it's also more than that. Seeing these two rivals align to fulfill their dreams and do what they believe will save their countries/people is an absolute thrill.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of my most anticipated read of the year - The Burning Queen by Aparna Verma.

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

🔥✨ ARC Review ✨🔥

I just finished reading The Burning Queen by Aparna Verma and wow… this book swept me away! 🐉👑 From the very first chapter, I was hooked by the rich worldbuilding, fierce characters, and political intrigue. It’s a story filled with fire, betrayal, and destiny—exactly the kind of fantasy that keeps me turning pages late into the night. 🌙📖

The writing was vivid and immersive, and I loved how every character had depth (even the ones I wanted to throw into a pit of flames! 🔥😂). The twists kept me on my toes, and I cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

If you love powerful queens, dragons, and high-stakes drama, this one definitely needs to be on your TBR. 🌟

Thank you @netgalley and @aparnaverma for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 💌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Kelly E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I finished this book, and now I am staring at the walls. Aparna Verma, I am unwell!
This will be a spoiler-free review.
This book had political intrigue, espionage, enemies-to-lovers, power shifts, a great magic system – which includes modern tech, and fantastic world building.
Elena is the Queen without a kingdom, and Samson is the Prophet whose magic leaves him weakened.
There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. It ends on a cliffhanger that sets up things perfectly for the third book, which of course I can’t wait to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for this ARC!

[Bhavini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Burning Queen by Aparna Verma took me on an epic journey and left me ready for the next book. Picking up where we left off in The Phoenix King, we get multiple points of views to carry us through the story. The Burning Queen has the return of familiar faces and new players that I cannot wait to get more of. This book gives action, drama, love, loss, yearning, and so many amazing and quotable moments.
Aparna has written some of the best fight scenes I've ever read. They were so good that I had to read them twice.

Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

[Bekah Mondy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent sequel to The Phoenix King and allows the world and our character to continue to grow and develop. We spend more time outside of Ravance, which allows us to understand even more about how the world is functioning as a whole and what challenges this creates for our characters. The pacing of the book is excellent and kept me wanting to read more as I went. The twists that the characters go through will leave you wanting more and waiting impatiently for the conclusion of the trilogy. If you enjoyed the first book, this is absolutely a must read sequel!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an ARC of this from NetGalley and absolutely devoured this advanced copy.
A rich and complex world created with beautiful prose that I just wanted to stay lost in. The mythology and magic systems in this series are so detailed and deep that I can just picture it like a GoT like epic on the big screen. I kept turning the page waiting for the next big reveal, the next twist. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book - where the journey goes from here!

[Brittany]

*Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit books for early copy for review*

So I listened to the first book in audio and physically read the second one. I think that not having the audio make this a much harder read for me. The audiobook had some of ny favorite narrators that can take any.proae and make it a magical experience. Without the audio I felt lost and not as interested.

I'm glad I was able to continue on with this, but I think this is where i leave this series.

[Marianne Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt the first book was okay. Thoroughly enjoyed this second book! It was so good! Definitely felt darker than book 1, especially with the twists and action scenes. Its a constantly moving, heavier politics story, and expands on all the world building while flushing out the characters (especially experiencing all their emotions).

Received an ARC through NetGalley (thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books) in exchange for an honest review. Review is all my own opinions.

[Katie Tinkham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an eARC of this!
This book is about vengeance from both Elena and Samson. Their dynamic is something else, its reluctant allies that toy with undercutting each other all the time to save their people. It’s morally gray and you want them both to succeed.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up to five stars)
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read an advance reader’s copy of this book!
This fiery sequel took my breath away!🔥I loved the all action, power struggles, and fierce magic within this story.

[Hetal Mathur]

I’m so excited for this yay!!

[Saeeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally CANNOT wait to get my hands on this book, November can’t come fast enough 😭😭

[Cec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aparna did it again! Full review will be out when the book comes out, but Im so thankful for getring and ARC of this book

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC