Title: Queen of Cahraman
Author: Lucy Tempest
Genre: Fiction/ Romance/ Fantasy
Source: Sequel to Thief of Cahraman
Rating: 5/5

Favourite Quote: ‘I felt his eyes on me again. I turned mine up to him, hopeful, and I found him looking at me as if he was seeing me for the first time, and horrified at what he saw. “You understand me so much, see me so totally, I thought you were perfect for me. But you were only too good to be true. Now I have to wonder if you’ve been made especially for me. Not to be my match, but to be my undoing.”‘

With the king refusing to accept her as a match for Cyrus, Ada finds herself running away from the Kingdom of Cahraman, away from the man she loves and friends she has come to cherish to finally get the chance to save Bonnie and her father. With heartbroken determination and the oil lamp in her possession, she confronts Nariman and realises too late that it was all a trick to take control of the kingdom and she was simply the pawn who had betrayed those she cared most about.
For two months trapped inside the city unable to escape or save the others, Ada and Cora with the stone statue of what was once Ayman, did what it took to survive on the streets. Sixty days into the reign of Queen Nariman the Terrible, the city had changed into something dark, people too scared to leave their homes without the necessity of survival. Ada went back to thieving on the streets, a life she adapted into well from her past, but every day she was filled with guilt for what she had done and wished to see Cyrus again more than anything. A wish her ring granted, pulling Cyrus, Cherine and Loujaine from the palace into the streets of Cahraman. Together again, Ada and Cyrus devise a plan to sneak into the castle and destroy Nariman’s power, only to be pulled into her web once again, exposing Ada for who she really is.

‘”Any ideas what to do now your plan has flopped?” Cora asked, her eyes fixed on the distorting city. 
A bitter laugh gurgled out of my churning gut, came out an agonizing groan. Flopped? My plan had destroyed everything. 
“Ada? Did you hear me?” she repeated. “What now?” 
Swallowing, I looked up at the now dark and sinister palace. Cyrus was still up there, so was Cherine, Fairuza and Ariane. While Cora and I were out here, and Ayman was – was… 
A sob slashed through me as my eyes dragged to his stony form. Was he – dead?
Nariman had entombed him in stone, and Cyrus and all the others might be stuck in that manifestation of her vengeance. I doubted she’d let any of them go, especially him. We were all trapped in that inverted world of festering hatred she’d created. 
“I don’t know, Cora,” I finally croaked, throat convulsing, eyes pricking with a thousand needles of pain and desperation. “I don’t know what to do – how to fix this.”

The Fairytales of Folkshore continues from where we left off in Prince of Cahraman and I have to say, it does not disappoint in the slightest! You’ll struggle to put this one down too. This is where Cyrus discovers who Ada really is and they both have their own new self discoveries to work through. Ada finding out where she came from and who she really is and Cyrus realising that his Lady Ada of Rose Isle doesn’t exist in the way he thought as well as unknown truths about his mother. They both struggle with the reality that has been unravelled around them, but they have no choice but to work together after being sent through a portal into the Land of No Return. It’s a wonderful adventure through never-ending deserts, abandoned cities, magical portals, enchanted beings and a lost treasure that was supposed to be a myth. The author does a fantastic job at setting this fantasy setting, you feel like you’re there with them exploring the legendary realms through the Land of No Return.

‘I continued falling through the world beyond the fountain. It was as vast as the night sky. But rather than endless darkness, it was a calm twilight, a celestial watercolor painting of soft lilacs, pale blues and translucent purples. Every now and then, in the gaps between overlapping clouds, I could see glimpses of other places. Locations with ongoing scenes, and portals like the ones I’d been sucked into. Like the one I was still falling through, with no wind in my ears and no end in sight.’

Ada feels more conflicted and lost than ever when the truth is exposed to Cyrus. You could feel their hearts breaking through the pages of the book and it’s agonising. Ada has lost everything, her friends, her mother, Bonnie and her father, and now any chance of being with the love of her life. You can feel the emotions with every facial expression and conflicting unspoken words expressed through the two characters. It’s interesting to see how they both develop within this book, knowing they have to overcome so much together as well as apart.
I also loved the additional characters introduced to the story, we finally get to meet the ‘genie’ of the lamp and the flashbacks into the past were a fantastic aspect to the book that really brought the story together. You get to see Ada’s birth mother and the truth to what really happened six years ago that pulled her away from Ada. It’s a lovely satisfying ending to the Fairytales of Folklore trilogy and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for her next fairytale retelling!

Goodreads Review:
ONE QUEEN. A CAPTIVE KINGDOM. A GAMBLE FOR SALVATION. 
In a corrupted Cahraman, Ada is back on the streets, struggling to save her friends and the kingdom from the fallout of her devastating mistake. But it all seems impossible when her enemy is all-powerful and Cyrus no longer trusts her. Her plan to steal back the lamp flings them on a treacherous quest for salvation. 
But if she fails, they’re all doomed to this dark fate forever.