Review - The Queen's Choice (Heirs of Chrior #1) by Cayla Kluver

Title: The Queen's Choice

Author: Cayla Kluver

Series: 1st

Pages: 512

Published: January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen 

ISBN: 9780373210923

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.  When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself. Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined. 

I Give This ...

I was really excited for this book.  I enjoyed Kluver's previous series immensely and I was hoping that she would grow as an author considering her age.  While this had a lot of elements that I came to enjoy from her previous works, this story was lacking some spark.

The story elements were greatly intriguing.   Fairy and humans worlds interact in ways that you don't typically see in books.  The two worlds seem to almost be at peace and fairies move freely about the human world.  But, not all is what it seems.  Fairies are disappearing at an alarming rate, and some fairies feel that there is a general feeling of unease in the human world.  There's always that risk of running into humans that aren't sympathetic to the fairies, but it was a risk some were willing to take.

Anya is one of those fairies.  I think she gets a thrill out of traveling throughout the human world.  She never sees the risk of it, which is something she always has a hard time explaining to those who never leave the fairy world.  I think this is were I had an issue with the story. Anya always acts without thinking.  When her aunt sends out Illumina, she never thinks about the reasoning behind this.  She just takes it upon herself to follow her out into the human world and do the work for her.  A mistake that costs her dearly.  But even after all that she goes through, it doesn't seem to change how she processes things.

I was unsure about Illumina.  I often thought she was just deeply misunderstood.  She may not have been keen to the human world.  But, I don't think she would have been as bad as a ruler as everyone thinks she will be.  I really believe she should be given the chance to prove herself and not counting her out for the very beginning.  The character I found most intriguing was Prince Zabriel.  He's a combination of both worlds and feels he doesn't fit in anywhere.

The story was also really slow.  There's a lot of world building here, but almost excessively so.  I found myself thinking less describing more doing in many points.  There were certain parts of the book that I was engrossed in.  But other parts, I found myself skimming.  I'm unsure how I feel about reading the next one.  Although, I'm sure I will when the time comes.