After the battle that toppled the Weave, warrior Fir leads his brothers east to escape servitude, or worse—death at the hands of rival warriors. They search for the fabled Master of Men who promises freedom for men in the Weave. But their quest leads them to a foe more dangerous than they could have imagined.
Plot
This book starts off immediately after the events of the first book in the series,The Bond. Things start out looking grim for Fir and his brothers and immediately get worse as the story progresses. Robin Kirk, the author, does an amazing job of subverting expectations of a standard story, just as she did with her first novel. Every time you think you know what might happen next, she throws a curveball that will knock you off your feet. The plot will keep you hooked from start to finish.
Characters
While the first book was from the perspective of Dinitra but this second book is from the point of view of Dinitra’s love interest, Fir. While we get to know Fir a bit in the first book, we really dive into his mind and backstory with this book. Kirk expands the cast by introducing Fir’s brothers and new antagonists, including the draft queen, Odide, who I absolutely fell in love with. The only thing I was disappointed in was not seeing Dinitra, the former protagonist, take any action compared to the previous book.
Setting
My favorite part of this book is usually what I struggle the most with sequels, the world building. Typically, in a sequel, we have to rely on what we learned from the previous book and there may be small elements built upon the setting we already have. The beautiful thing about The Hive Queen is Fir enters uncharted territory. We get to explore this new area of the already unique world from The Bond along with the characters.
My Recommendation
If you haven’t read the first book in Robin Kirk’s trilogy, The Bond, you absolutely need to. The second book builds beautifully on the series, introducing new amazing characters and new world-building elements. The plot will hook you from the start and the plot twists will keep you guessing what will happen next. This book is a quick, fun read perfect for a weekend getaway.
