The Hedgewitch Queen (Romances of Arquitaine) [Kindle Edition]

Lilith Saintcrow (Author)

Book Description

Vianne di Rocancheil has been largely content to play the gawky provincial. As lady in waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse safely through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.

Unfortunately, the dance has changed. Treachery is afoot in gilded and velvet halls. A sorcerous conspiracy is unleashed, with blood, death, and warfare close behind. Her Princesse murdered and her own life in jeopardy, Vianne must flee, carrying the fate of her land with her--the Great Seal of Arquitaine, awake after its long sleep. Invasion threatens, civil war looms, and the conspiracy hunts for Vianne di Rocancheil, to kill or to use her against all she holds dear.

A life of dances, intrigues, and fashion has not prepared her for this. Nor has it prepared her for Tristan d'Arcenne, Captain of the King's Guard and player in the most dangerous games conspiracy can devise. Yet to save her country and avenge her Princesse, Vianne will become what she must, say what she should, and do whatever is required.

A Queen can do no less.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Vianne evolves into a fascinating character whose adventures I would gladly follow into a sequel." (dearauthor.com )

About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years old. She currently lives in Vancouver, WA. Find out more at www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 745 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (December 1, 2011)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004RD8512
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,391 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Heaven help the people of Arquitaine January 6, 2012

By J S

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If the choice is between D'Orlaans and Vianne, I'm not sure which represents the rougher road. Indecisive nincompoop or bloodthirsty regicide?

It's easier to start with the flaws in the book. Vianne is tiresome. She is about as useless a heroine as I've ever had the displeasure of reading in a book. Dumb, too. Not Elle Woods-yeah-she's-fluffy-but-she's-smart-too kind of way. No, Bella Swan of Twilight is a member of Mensa compared to Vianne. (Can I drop in a "girl, please" for yet another heroine who thinks herself plain but is really unbelievably beautiful? Let her be plain. There's no harm in it.)

Vianne spends the entire book doubting her situation that a) she's the rightful ruler of Arquitaine and b) Tristan is in love with her. The entire book. Which might not have been so bad if the book weren't so long. Two-thirds of the way through it, Vianne says to herself, "For the love of every god that ever was, I thought, desperately, stop whining, Vianne." I concurred so hard, I might have hurt myself.

Saintcrow goes overboard doing that thing that authors sometimes do when they create these mirror it-looks-just-like-ours worlds: she changes the spellings of words to emphasize that This Is Not Our Worlds. Aquitaine is now Arquitaine. The Bastille is the Bastillion. Earrings are ear gems. My personal least favorite, dungeon has become donjon (which I kept reading as DON JOHNSON for an unknown reason). At first, I thought perhaps the author's spell check was broken. The number of instances of these substitutions far exceeded my general tolerance.

So, what do we have thus far: insufferably weak heroine with a Walter Mitty-esque resistance to reality and a lot of goofy spellings. Add to that the book is far, far too long, and the twist at the end is uninteresting.

On the upside, I was drawn into the story, and wanting the resolution carried me through the dull slog of a middle. Vianne and Tristan are two-dimensional characters, but the rest of the Guard show signs of being interesting. The mysterious figure who appears at a random moment was sort of cool, and I would love to know more about what happened there. I'm interested in the world Saintcrow has crafted, despite not particularly liking Vianne as a character/narrator.

Yeah, this is a two star read, but I'll give it three anyway.

50 of 60 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The heroine is a ninny December 11, 2011

By jrv

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like the world this takes place in and I like most of the characters, but the main character is a limp dishrag. I am a little over halfway through and am already tired of her constant whining and her poor self-image. Lilith Saintcrow is known for her kick-ass heroines, but she missed the mark in this book. I am finishing this book in the hopes that the heroine finally comes out of her self-pitying fog and steps up to the plate. I really dislike characters who constantly misinterpret the obvious and are constantly wailing - why me, why me? I hope it improves. I think it could be a good book. I am hoping! I really want to like this book. I must say, I finished the book and unfortunately it didn't get any better, in fact; it got worse. Sorry, I will not be reading any further in the series. Now, not only is the heroine a ninny, but the hero is more of a villian and a creepy stalker. Oh well, it was only $2.99, not a drain on my finances like some of the kindle books.

29 of 38 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the time December 6, 2011

By Ian Beck

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Disclaimer: I only made it about halfway through before I had to put this book down, so it is entirely possible that the ending somehow managed to redeem the lackluster mid-section. I'll never know.

Things start off strongly enough: the world is interesting, the situation dire, and the characters, though flawed, show signs of maturing and overcoming the odds. However, after the initial push, the main conflicts in the story turn out to hinge on the main character's insistence on repeating the same tired (and patently false) thoughts to herself. I have little patience when a story's interpersonal tension relies on characters repeating the same mistake over and over ("I can't tell him how I feel/what I think/etc.!" leads to misunderstandings and bad things; then next time "I can't tell him how I feel/think!" and gee, guess what? Doesn't work *again*). If the characters changed and learned from their mistakes, the story would have been far more interesting. As it was, the main character simply kept obsessing over the same ideas that were patently false to the reader and relied on an acute inability to observe the people around her. Given that she was described as someone who is excellent at reading people and sniffing out intrigue in her past life, this fell rather flat for me.

Additionally, the author started to repeat descriptive phrases, as well (one in particular -- something about a "lingering scent of maleness" -- was inane the first time around and not improved by repetition), and at that point I was finished. The writing was decent and lacked the spelling and grammar mistakes that you often find in the sub-five-dollar pool, but it needed a better editor, tighter prose, and a more believably flawed protagonist to really live up to its potential.

More About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her two children and assorted other strays. She has been writing since she was nine years old. Find her on the web at www.lilithsaintcrow.com.