Queen Titania’s story continues. To Be a Fae Legend is the third installment in author Tricia Copeland’s Realm Chronicles, and if you’ve read the series to this point you’re not going to want to miss out on what unfolds next. Queen Titania has quite the road ahead of her as her quest to keep her people safe continues. Things calm for a time, but evil never rests and she will find that her moments of peace are short lived.
To Be a Fae Legend holds to the familiarity that readers have become accustomed to concerning the covers. Readers are presented with Queen Titania herself. Her red hair appearing windswept up and away from her face. Her visage appears stoic with the stones embedded in her skin scattered across her face. Smaller crystals and crystalline dust cover her brows moving to blend upward towards her hair. Her wings flare up behind her while all around her stars appear to drop down.
To Be a Fae Legend picks up where To Be a Fae Guardian (review here) left off. Holden has been stripped away from Titania. His promises to “never love another” were tossed to the side. Are his actions simply to please his king and brother? Or is it that he is truly in love with the woman who has been chosen for him to marry? What we do know is that Titania’s heart…is once again in pieces.
Titania has battled the kobold alongside her people and survived. She has thwarted the destruction intended by an evil spirit controlling a swarm of locusts and came out victorious. Now, in To Be a Fae Legend, she must bear witness to the man she loved wedding another. It’s a hard pill to swallow for sure, but as monarch, it’s a burden that she must bear. But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg.
To Be a Fae Legend shifts the storyline from Queen Titania constantly preparing for battle to a slower pace. Instead, in this book, author Copeland pushes Titania in a direction that she has been avoiding since book one, To Be a Fae Queen (review here). Marriage. Since book one, Titania has wanted to prove to herself and everyone else that she can lead and standalone.
Author Copeland impresses on readers in To Be a Fae Legend the weight that sits on Titania’s shoulders. She wants her people safe, and she also understands that she can’t do it alone. She needs an army for the threat that is looming over Middle Earth. She needs allies that she can lean on and share this heavy burden with, and it continues to weigh heavy on her shoulders.
To Be a Fae Legend proceeds at a more sedentary pace compared to To Be a Fae Guardian (review here). In To Be a Fae Guardia,n readers follow along as Queen Titania faces down the council, who view her as a “young girl with too much power.” Her allies are stripped from her one by one, and then a new threat arises. In To Be a Fae Legend, Titania must face new challenges.
Author Copeland presents Titania with a new challenge that she cannot train for – running the gauntlet of choosing a future husband. It shouldn’t sound that daunting, right? Well, for Titania, it is quite the challenge because she will need to choose a mate without truly having the option of marrying for love. She needs an army, and so choosing the “best potential” mate will be based on who will be able to add to her kingdom and not take away from it.
Author Copeland has a lot in store for Titania in To Be a Fae Legend. The suitors that are presented, some are worth the time getting to know, and others? Well, you’ll be just as ready as Queen Titania to summarily dismiss them…quickly. It is interesting to see how things play out for Titania as she meets and learns about each of these princes from the different kingdoms.
True to form in To Be a Fae Legend, Titania’s mother issues yet another vague warning… “Three are coming.” Readers will be pressed to discover the meaning of this omen that Titania’s mother speaks of. We’re tempted to think that maybe it will be that Titania can expect help from three individuals, but that’s just too much to ask for, right? But one thing is for sure – and that is that it absolutely builds the suspense and anticipation of what is to come.
In To Be a Fae Legend, Queen Titania will be shown spreading herself quite thin. She’s entertaining multiple suitors, some of whom have their own agendas and motives for wooing her. Then she has her three cousins that she is hosting and who are striving to help her unlock her magic. What’s more? She’s embarking on quests to Upper Earth to help the witches pull Theron from Hell so that he can be one less piece in the puzzle to Sonia’s quest to level up her own power.
Talk about a fully loaded plate! Told from the first-person POV To Be a Fae Legend focuses solely on Titania as she seeks to protect her people and find a balance that will work for herself. It’s a tricky balance that she struggles to manage. Especially when she spends longer and longer periods of time in Upper Earth, where it becomes edge-of-your-seat dangerous.
One of the more interesting aspects of To Be a Fae Legend is the suitors. Each of these fae princes brings something unique to the storyline. There are a couple that Titania is quite drawn to based on their appearance alone. There will be one in particular who will have readers giving him extreme side eye because of a faux pa that he does. Oddly enough, Titania reigns in her rather famous temperament and lets it slide…while in public, of course.
While Queen Titania is sorting suitors during the day, she embarks to help the witches during the night free Hunter’s brother from Hell. The problem with it? Well, he has quite the temperament himself, and the Creator must deem Theron worthy of being released from Hell to return to a new body. Well, Theron isn’t exactly a “model” individual, and their endeavors are punctuated with issues that must be overcome. It definitely makes for interesting reading in To Be a Fae Legend, and it’s easy to understand the characters’ frustration throughout it all.
The pacing of To Be a Fae Legend is well done overall, but it’s not the most exciting addition to the series. Since the story focuses primarily on Titania’s endeavor to find a suitable mate, there isn’t as much action to be found. Don’t fret, though, there is some drama that comes to play sprinkled throughout the story. Of course, the closer that To Be a Fae Legend comes to the end, the more things begin to amp up in the drama department.
To Be a Fae Legend moves the storyline in unexpected ways and shows Queen Titania making some rather unexpected choices that will definitely raise some eyebrows. As To Be a Fae Legend draws to a close, author Copeland will leave readers rather shocked and curious to see where the story goes from here.
To Be a Fae Legend is less thrilling compared to the previous books in the series, but don’t let that fool you. There is plenty going on in this installment that will keep you glued to the pages and eager to discover what will happen next. Will Titania make the right choice and choose love over duty? Or will she choose to lock herself into a relationship with someone who is on a quest for her crown?
To Be a Fae Legend, by author Copeland, is a good addition to the series. We would have preferred more drama and for this book to be just as fast-paced as the previous, but it manages to remain intriguing and to draw us in to the end. Readers who enjoy YA fantasy novels and those who have enjoyed the series thus far, will not regret picking up this book. Just be prepared for To Be a Fae Legend to leave you with a twisted cliffhanger.
Pros:
- Well detailed story
- Unique characters
- Twists and surprises
- Nice overall character development
- Gripping final chapters
Cons:
- Storyline needed more drama in places to ramp it up.
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