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The King's Queen (Gate of Myth and Power, #3)

K.M. Shea

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

Discussion: Book of the Month

Why we're reading this: Voted as our “Most popular books Published in March 2023” April BOM
[close] Voted as our “Most popular books Published in March 2023” April BOM

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* BOM: Group Read History [2025]
By Steph , Serious series addict · 9 posts · 22 views

last updated Aug 30, 2025 12:41AM

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last updated Mar 15, 2012 06:15PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 16, 2023 Katyana rated it really liked it

Shelves: uf, kindle-unlimited

I enjoyed it, but to be honest the first half was a real slog for me. It just felt like endless melodrama that I wasn't really buying. Given that Chloe and Noctus had only known each other for the summer - and yes, formed a real connection at the very tail end of that - it felt ridiculous for that to lead to months of melodrama and angst as neither of them actually did anything.

Because here's the thing: I just didn't buy that strong of a connection between them yet. Yes, they cared about each o I enjoyed it, but to be honest the first half was a real slog for me. It just felt like endless melodrama that I wasn't really buying. Given that Chloe and Noctus had only known each other for the summer - and yes, formed a real connection at the very tail end of that - it felt ridiculous for that to lead to months of melodrama and angst as neither of them actually did anything.

Because here's the thing: I just didn't buy that strong of a connection between them yet. Yes, they cared about each other, and had become friends. But like ... when they encounter their very first obstacle, and it goes like this --

"Well, I guess this is not going to work out between us."
"No, looks like it isn't. Good luck to you."
"Thanks, good luck to you too."
(both part ways, with a sad look or two)

-- I mean, how much connection is really there when they don't even TRY to find a solution? They don't even discuss possibilities. They just immediately throw in the towel and go their separate ways. Yeah, they're sad about it, but they accept it. They were just the lame martyrs who immediately hurled themselves on the sword, accepting that they could never have something good in their lives.

Serious lame.

And that went on for HALF THE BOOK. I was gritting my teeth. Especially when, in this type of book, we know they'll be together at the end, and given the very little time left (given that we're in the last half of the last book), when the elves are finally revealed it's going to be a big nothingburger ... since we don't have the page time to work through a more serious reaction from the supernatural community.

And speaking of nothingburgers, there are a couple other things I want to talk about in spoiler tags. Please note that this book is the final book in the FOURTH trilogy in the overall Magiford series, and I'm going to talk a little about the previous trilogies in here, so if you haven't read them and don't want spoilers, beware...

(view spoiler)[I'm starting to feel a little strung along. We are now 12 books into this series, and we still have major open issues dating all the way back to the first damn book, and it feels like we're just spinning our wheels on that plot. Who killed Hazel's family? What is their goal? This same group has, in theory, been behind every nefarious plot point across 4 series now, and we know literally nothing about them - not who they are, why they're doing this, what their goal is, nothing.

Each trilogy ends with some minor resolution for the lead female character - Hazel gets her house back, Leila stabilizes her Court, Pip ... whatever, I can't even remember because I really didn't like that series. And here, Chloe gets a home/family/place to belong. But none of them actually get any resolution on what happened, and with all of them the trilogy ends with - apparently - the bad guys deciding meh, I didn't really want to beat you anyway ... because once the plot is foiled, the main characters are apparently out of danger and free to go on with their lives.

Like, why is Hazel safe now? Whatever they were trying to do in ending Hazel's house (I assume ... because they killed her parents and helped fund a coup against her) didn't work, so they gave up? Why is Killian safe? Because they were funding the Night Court and supplying them with superweapons to try and end the Drake family, but when that battle was lost, they shrugged and moved on. What were they TRYING to do, and how can they continue their plans without doing it? Or are there no real plans at all, just random chaos like a toddler throwing a tantrum? I'm starting to think it is that, because they are continually thwarted, but their goals don't seem to actually matter... since they shrug and move to the next target, to kick off the next trilogy.

But yo, it has been 12 books now, and I'm losing patience. I feel strung along.

In this book, they stop the tracker, but it is a nothingburger - they learn nothing about him or the organization, he just seems like a very well-funded zealot determined to kill the shadow. They thwart the attack on the Cloisters, but there is NO wrap-up of interrogating the fae they captured. It is a giant, horrible nothingburger as all the characters move on and it is never mentioned again because we're moving towards Chloe and Noctus's HEA now, forget the scary organization...let's just assume that scary organization doesn't care about Chloe or Noctus, given that they don't care about any other couple after their plans are thwarted. (hide spoiler)]

I enjoy the overall series, but I am getting frustrated. Hazel/Killian are still my favorite trilogy, with Leila/Rigel a close second. This trilogy is a distant third (too much melodrama for me), and, well, I didn't like Pip and whats-his-name (yes, that's how much I really didn't connect to it, I can't even remember his name) so we won't even call that 4th place. Just last.

I like this author - though clean romance isn't really my thing, I like the characterizations, the world, the storytelling and so clean/chaste isn't a dealbreaker. I know I'll read the next series. But I hope there's real forward movement, or that will probably be my last. ...more

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