The Queen Will Betray You (Kingdoms of Sand and Sky #2)

by Sarah Henning

Overview

The breathtaking sequel to Sarah Henning's The Princess Will Save You—a brilliantly-executed YA fantasy homage to The Princess Bride

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE CROWN…

After a thousand years of political stability, the realm of The Sand and Sky is up for grabs. Four kingdoms, four rulers vying for the ultimate prize, sovereignty over the entire continent: A ruthless old king spinning webs, whose schemes encompass generations. A widowed queen whose only credo is all kings must die. A runaway queen whose unexpected return upends everyone’s plans. And a prince-in-waiting determined to wait no more.

Standing against them are a dispossessed princess and her stable boy love with a surprising claim of his own. Their only hope in the face of unspeakable betrayals, enemies hidden in the shadows, and insurmountable odds is the power of true love...

The Kingdoms of Sand & Sky Trilogy
Book 1: The Princess Will Save You
Book 2: The Queen Will Betray You
Book 3: The King Will Kill You

Praise for The Princess Will Save You

“Full of inconceivable wit, daring adventure, and cunning political machinations…It’s as if Sarah Henning looked into my soul that yearned for a book like The Princess Bride and said—as you wish. And yes, this is a kissing book.”—Ashley Poston, author of Heart of Iron

“A breakneck fantasy adventure…. Swoony romance, sword fights, a great cast of characters and some clever parallels to a story about another princess who won’t be made a bride makes The Princess Will Save You a strong contender for my favorite novel of the year.”—Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books, St. Charles, Missouri

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250237460
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/06/2021
Series:	Kingdoms of Sand and Sky Trilogy , #2
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	407,291
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sarah Henning is the author of several books for young adults, including the Indies Introduce/Indies Next selection and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Sea Witch, and its sequel, Sea Witch Rising; The Princess Will Save You, The Queen Will Betray You, and The King Will Kill You, as well as Throw Like A Girl and its companion book, It's All In How You Fall. Her first middle grade book, Monster Camp, is scheduled to release in Summer 2023, and she appears in the girls-in-sports anthology, Out of Our League (2024). When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team.

sarahhenningwrites.com
Instagram: @shhenning
Twitter: @shhenning

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2021

Gr 8 Up—Princess Amarande and her love Luca return from their adventures in The Princess Will Save You to face grander threats than pirates and kidnappers. Amarande's long-absent mother has returned and is determined to put Ama's illegitimate brother on the throne. Meanwhile, Luca must find an underground rebellion and earn their trust as the long-lost heir to the throne. Matters are further complicated by the machinations of Queen Ines, who intends to claim every country for her own, no matter who sits upon the throne. Unlikely alliances and betrayals wait around every corner as the young leaders work to reclaim their kingdoms. This fast-paced sequel doubles down on the strengths of the first book with nonstop action and increasingly deadly intrigue. There are some plot points and coincidences that require a little too much hand waving (like a tattoo that remains unchanged from infancy to adulthood and a continent that can seemingly be crossed on horseback in less than a day). The romance feels disappointingly thin as the protagonists are once again separate for most of the book, but this time they have other things to worry about. Ama's relationship with the charismatic and complicated Prince Taillefer, who is with her for much of the story, is more interesting and electric than her repeated intonations of "my love" when thinking of Luca. VERDICT A fast-paced installment in the Princess Bride–inspired series. Give to teens who love swordplay or want a less gruesome alternative to Game of Thrones.—Amy Diegelman, Chicago P.L.

School Library Journal

2021-05-11
The Princess Bride meets Game of Thrones in this follow-up to 2020’s The Princess Will Save You.

Tucking in a red wedding to clue in the clueless and occasional summaries to help everyone else keep up, Henning picks up the action from the end of the last volumeand pushes her gender-swapped homage to William Goldman’s fantasy classic to a gore-splashed happy ending. Alas, fun as it may be to work through a tale rich in thinly disguised references (“My name is Ulara Vidal. You killed my mother”), panting romance, and so much royal back- and front-stabbing that readers will surely be moved to wonder, along with a secondary character, “what in the stars is wrong with you people?” the action seems incidental to ruminations, ramifications, and analyses, mostly about incidents from years past—with more than enough sudden, gap-filling flashbacks, lines like “the body fell with a moist thud,” and outright fudging (quicksand with tunnels underneath? Really?) to impart a distinct sense of authorial I’m-just-making-this-up-as-I-go. There’s also a certain disconnect in the agenda to end the oppressive, albeit peace-maintaining, patriarchy that drives the three bloody-minded queens and around which the story revolves. The cast presents as White except for the residents of one nation who are described as having burnished brown skin.

No dragons but plenty of fierce women hacking their ways to power and true love. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Princess Will Save You

“Fantasy and romance fans alike will gobble up this energetic story.”—School Library Journal

“A riveting series of adventures.”—Booklist

“A breakneck fantasy adventure with the most kick-ass heroine I’ve read in months. Swoony romance, sword fights, a great cast of characters and some clever parallels to a story about another princess who won’t be made a bride makes The Princess Will Save You a strong contender for my favorite novel of the year.”—Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books, St. Charles, Missouri

“Full of inconceivable wit, daring adventure, and cunning political machinations…It’s as if Sarah Henning looked into my soul that yearned for a book like The Princess Bride and said—as you wish. And yes, this is a kissing book.”—Ashley Poston, author of Heart of Iron

“The Princess Will Save You is everything we love about YA fantasy, complete with first love, sweeping adventure, and a fierce heroine who holds her own. There’s something for everyone in this book.”—Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author of The Sky in the Deep

“An action-packed adventure with a fierce heroine that is sure to enthrall! Sarah Henning has created a fantasy narrative that weaves together love and betrayal, pirates and swordplay. Sure to please anyone who grew up loving tales of princesses.”—Emily Lloyd-Jones, author of The Bone Houses

From the Publisher