A-/B+ | Despite the fact that Talyien was one of the most frustrating characters I have read this year, I truly enjoyed this magnificent, character-driven novel with its lush Filipino-coded world. Talyien is surely one of the most interesting characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. The worldbuilding is woven into the story in such a superb way that I could vividly see, smell, feel, hear, and taste the universe. This adult fantasy novel is unapologetically Filipino and it reflects so much of both the good and bad aspects of Filipino society. It is a thrill ride full of heartbreak, betrayal, love, family, duty, and politics.
Title: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen #1)
Author: K.S. Villoso
Synopsis: A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.
“I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me.”
Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father’s rival heralds peaceful days to come.
But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair.
Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It’s meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she’s on her own as she struggles to fight her way home.
Publication Date: February 18th 2020
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | IndieBound | Waterstones
Table of Contents
— REVIEW:
As a Filipino woman, I can’t even begin to tell you how important this is to see and read. It took everything in me NOT to weep. Finally, after so many years of wanting and wishing (& jokingly saying one day, I’ll write a Filipino-inspired fantasy), to see a Filipino write a fantasy that is so unapologetically Filipino makes me so happy.
I read this book in less than 36 hours. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. The moment I stepped into Talyien’s head, I got to meet one of the absolute most complex, interesting characters I have had the pleasure of meeting this year. She is loud, brash, and quick to reach for a weapon when she’s insulted, but she’s also insecure, needy, and someone who never had the chance to be just Talyien.
Do you know what Villoso refuses to let you do? Breathe.
The plot is just non-stop. It rolls and rolls and nothing seems to go right for Talyien which means she’s on her toes which forces us to be on our toes, too. She makes a lot of mistakes over and over again. The tension is palpable and it is right there from the start.
How else do you think I finished a book like this in less than 36 hours?
Nothing that I expected to happen ended up happening in this novel. That feels so, so, so GOOD to read. Yes, it’s fun to be able to guess what happens in a novel and have it come true, but it can get frustrating after a while. This book doesn’t fall in line with your stereotypical fantasy.
The worldbuilding shines bright in this novel.
I love the worldbuilding here because it is vivid and alive. It’s easy to picture almost every aspect of this world, its people, its history. This world isn’t your pseudo-medieval European world. It’s unequivocally Filipino with inspiration from other sources in Southeast Asia. Not once does Villoso allow you to believe this is anything but a fantasy set in a world inspired by the Philippines.
However, she doesn’t resort to info-dumping or long expositions to get her worldbuilding across to the reader. It’s natural and seamless. This world comes to life through Talyien’s eyes. We are in Talyien’s head, therefore the information comes to us as naturally as it would whenever we’re thinking about something.
Furthermore, Villoso brings in real-world aspects such as xenophobia and economic inequalities. Now, she doesn’t do this for shock value. They are important to the story and are called out for what they are — inequalities that those of us who are privileged need to help correct.
This allows this world to feel so alive and so much more realistic.
But what helps this is the fact that the characters are so very human.
Talyien is a truly complex, intriguing character. She is loud and brash and quick to reach for her sword when insulted, but she is also insecure, needy, and imperfect. What is so great about this story as a whole is that she isn’t allowed to have a moment of peace. All of her actions have consequences. Mistake after mistake, she is forced to deal with the end result, thus leading her to more mistakes.
Her imperfections are what make her a fantastic, realistic character. Yes, she is frustrating. Oh without a doubt you’re going to go, “Who is that foolish?”. I certainly did a number of times throughout this book. But, let’s be honest: how many of us can actually say we wouldn’t make the same mistakes?
Now, what also makes Talyien feel so very human is the circumstances that surround who she is and why she is the way that she is. We know that Villoso took inspiration from the Philippines. We see it in the worldbuilding, yes. But we see this inspiration in the characters as well which lead to me being very frustrated with Talyien at first because I just didn’t understand.
I didn’t understand why this woman — this strong, independent character — was so desperate to get her husband back.
I didn’t understand why she was so insistent on bringing him back for the sake of family. It bothered me so much how her son continued to ADORE a man who had abandoned them to the point where she had to get him back otherwise she feared her son’s reaction. Sure, she used the kingdom’s future as an excuse. But what she really wanted was her husband back so that her family was complete.
It didn’t make any sense to me. I spent the majority of the book just wanting to SCREAM at Talyien. Hell, I even joked on GR that I wouldn’t want her to be my queen because she’s a fool! He left. He abandoned them. Yet, she still loves him.
Snap out of it! Who gives a shit what men think? Be the bitch you claim to be!
But then, I started to ask. Why was this frustratingly foolish character reminding me of some of my relatives? Then it clicked and once it did? I began to see Talyien in a different light — a more sympathetic light.
Talyien is no different from the real-life Filipino women that are out there. She, like countless of other Filipino women, carry the burden of needing to be perfect in all the roles they are placed it. Whether this role is daughter, ate (older sister), wife, mother, tita (aunt), best friend — whatever it is — she needs to do it all perfectly. And even if she does it perfectly? The moment one of the males in her life screws things up? It’s on her to fix it and make it right.
This is exactly how it is with Talyien. She should not be blamed for her husband running away and abandoning his people, his kingdom, and his son. And yet, she’s blamed and it’s on her to do everything in her power to fix it.
This perhaps is the most frustrating aspect of this book, but also something I appreciated. We sometimes become complacent to the point where the sh!t that should make anyone angry simply makes them shrug their shoulders. We turn a blind eye because it’s life. But by calling it out, we are forced to remember and confront it head on or at least do better to call it out when we see bullsh!t like this.
Overall Thoughts?
This book is an absolute must-read. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who want a SE Asian-coded fantasy. This book is filled with inspiration from the Philippines and I couldn’t be more happy with it. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
Caffeine Book Tours — Join the Conversation
I want to thank Shealea of Caffeine Book Tours and Orbit for giving me this opportunity to review this amazing, stunning book. I received a copy of this book via NetGallery in exchange for an honest review. Make sure to check out the other reviews during this international tour as well as the #HailTheBitchQueen tag on Twitter!
About the Author.
K.S. Villoso was born in a dank hospital on an afternoon in Albay, Philippines and things have generally been okay since then. After spending most of her childhood in a slum area in Taguig (where she dodged death-defying traffic, ate questionable food, and fell into open-pit sewers more often than one ought to), she and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they spent the better part of two decades trying to chase the North American Dream. She is now living amidst the forest and mountains with her family, children, and dogs in Anmore, BC.
Author links:
Leave a Reply