War of the Cards | A YA Book Review

War of the Cards by Colleen Oakes

This is more 3.5 stars for me. I did forget some things from the previous books (one reason I like to read all the books at once) and had to look up a synopsis, but after that I was good. This book starts right in the action as Dinah goes to overthrow the King of Hearts.

Things I liked: Dinah's character arc from the beginning of the series, the writing is easy to read (and the books have large margins), the Yurkei tribe, and the resurgence of a character from Dinah's childhood.

Things that didn't jive for me: I forgot how incredibly bloody it was and that stuff kind of makes me feel physically ill so I skimmed a lot, two major plot twists I predicted early on (even in previous books), and this (sort of spoiler coming....) after what Dinah did and how tormented Whardley was about it, I understand why he would have fulfilled the role for him in the peace treaty, but do not understand how he would have co-created life with Dinah when he found her repulsive for her actions. I couldn't suspend my disbelief on that one (this is in the epilogue).

One other thing I did like was Davi in the epilogue. I feel like it hints that the series doesn't necessarily have to be over. So, that was kind of fun. It can end here or go on, and either way it makes sense. Overall, this series is an interesting take on the Queen of Hearts story and ends with more hope than most retellings.