Long May She Reign
Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: February 21, 2017
Pages: 422
My Rating: ★★

The Girl of Fire and Thorns meets The Queen of the Tearling in this thrilling fantasy standalone about one girl’s unexpected rise to power. Freya was never meant be queen. Twenty third in line to the throne, she never dreamed of a life in the palace, and would much rather research in her laboratory than participate in the intrigues of court. However, when an extravagant banquet turns deadly and the king and those closest to him are poisoned, Freya suddenly finds herself on the throne. Freya may have escaped the massacre, but she is far from safe. The nobles don’t respect her, her councillors want to control her, and with the mystery of who killed the king still unsolved, Freya knows that a single mistake could cost her the kingdom – and her life. Freya is determined to survive, and that means uncovering the murderers herself. Until then, she can’t trust anyone. Not her advisors. Not the king’s dashing and enigmatic illegitimate son. Not even her own father, who always wanted the best for her, but also wanted more power for himself. As Freya’s enemies close in and her loyalties are tested, she must decide if she is ready to rule and, if so, how far she is willing to go to keep the crown. 
 An unlikely girl who is destined to become Queen.
Fantasy novels are always a make or break for me. I do not typically read a lot of them. However, the suspense aspect of this book intrigued me to pick it up. The mystery did not disappoint in the slightest. I kind of suspected the murderer but I was not let down by this. The main character annoyed me. Freya is so unsure of herself. To the point where it's almost too much. The father-daughter relationship made me smile. The plot fell flat for me and that's why it got a two-star review from me. I just wanted something more and nothing really happened. There is no complexity to this story. The book needed more world-building. The kingdom was hardly even talked about and how it came to be in the first place. Some fantasy novels go way too in-depth with different lands etc but this one has nothing! This book was a huge letdown.


Rhiannon Thomas is an English Lit grad from Princeton University. She currently lives in York, England, in the shadow of a 13th century Gothic cathedral. When she isn’t lost in YA fantasy, she writes about feminism and the media on her blog, FeministFiction.com.