THE RAVEN THRONE

Cordelia, Giles, and Rosalind, magical triplets raised in exile and now restored to the monarchy, discover the royal court is more dangerous than any wild creature in this sequel toThe Raven Heir (2021).

A great battle has restored Cordelia to the Raven Throne, so the 12-year-old triplets feel like everything ought to be easy now. Instead, it’s all worse than ever. Cordelia, now the Raven Queen, is surrounded by terrible advisers and kept away from her siblings. Rosalind, the young warrior, is tormented by cruel ladies-in-waiting and humiliated for her athleticism. Giles dreamed of becoming a bard, but now he’s convinced that indulging in either music or magic will tarnish Cordelia and make her seem unfit for the crown. One night, Cordelia falls into an enchanted slumber, and it’s up to Rosalind and Giles to go on a quest to save both their sister and the magical land itself—but they venture forth without their greatest strengths. An escalating series of arguments and misunderstandings means that neither the triplets nor their family members ever compare notes, so it is not until the climax that they realize how badly they’ve been manipulated by vicious nobles. Instead, they spent much of the adventure angry, shouting, and mutually distrustful. Despite the eventual rewarding character growth for Rosalind and Giles, the unnecessarily overlong communication failure is exhausting. Most characters read White.

A thrilling quest, but it would’ve been unnecessary if the protagonists had had even one calm conversation.