The Wolf of Oren-Yaro
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- Create Date：2021-07-11 09:53:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：K.S. Villoso
- ISBN：0356514455
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Summary
“They called me “bitch”， the she-wolf， because I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me。”
Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro， Talyien aren dar Orenar's life unfolded like a storybook。 The shining jewel and legacy of the War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart， her marriage to the Ikessar heir， Rayyel， spoke of peaceful days to come。
But all storybooks must end。 Rayyel suddenly left the night before they were to be crowned， leaving the land as divided as before。
Years later， in the midst of the warlords' rising tensions， Talyien receives a message from Rayyel， urging her to meet with him in the Empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro。 An assassination attempt interrupts Talyien's quest for reconciliation， sending the queen struggling in a strange and dangerous land。 With betrayals in every twist and turn， she is forced to enlist the help of a con-artist to survive and save her husband from the clutches of those who would seek to use him for their gain。。。if he would let her。
Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro， Talyien aren dar Orenar's life unfolded like a storybook。 The shining jewel and legacy of the War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart， her marriage to the Ikessar heir， Rayyel， spoke of peaceful days to come。
But all storybooks must end。 Rayyel suddenly left the night before they were to be crowned， leaving the land as divided as before。
Years later， in the midst of the warlords' rising tensions， Talyien receives a message from Rayyel， urging her to meet with him in the Empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro。 An assassination attempt interrupts Talyien's quest for reconciliation， sending the queen struggling in a strange and dangerous land。 With betrayals in every twist and turn， she is forced to enlist the help of a con-artist to survive and save her husband from the clutches of those who would seek to use him for their gain。。。if he would let her。
Reviews
Marmie7
，
Entertaining debut fantasy set in an Asian inspired world。 Loved the world-building and especially the lead character who isn’t quite what other people are lead to believe。 I will definitely be picking up the sequel！
megan
，
debating between 4 and 5 stars on this one。 i definitely did enjoy it but i had one gripe with the book。the writing and pacing of this book was very well done， this is high praise from me because i find i always complain about pacing。the world building was simple， yet not lacking。 i found that each country/city had its own unique flavour that was easy to picture。taly made some stupid decisions and i feel like her title of "bitch queen" is not 100% deserved due to the fact that she was pining ove debating between 4 and 5 stars on this one。 i definitely did enjoy it but i had one gripe with the book。the writing and pacing of this book was very well done， this is high praise from me because i find i always complain about pacing。the world building was simple， yet not lacking。 i found that each country/city had its own unique flavour that was easy to picture。taly made some stupid decisions and i feel like her title of "bitch queen" is not 100% deserved due to the fact that she was pining over her husband who left her over five years ago for most of the book。 i would've liked to see the side of her that gave her that reputation in the first place。 i definitely did enjoy her personal journey though。i enjoyed the overall plot and am excited to pick up the sequel The Ikessar Falcon soon 。。。more
Kamryn Brady
，
3。5
Lin
，
4。5
Meagann
，
Obsessed！ This was an incredible fantasy book that have good and bad people or even morally grey people， but just people。 People who believe what they are doing is right in their perspective， people who scam others， people who have a pocket of morals， people who lust for power， and people who are just trying to survive。 This book doesn't shy away from some more dark and gritty themes from which I could see the author exploring more in the trilogy。 The worldbuilding， culture， and politics was wov Obsessed！ This was an incredible fantasy book that have good and bad people or even morally grey people， but just people。 People who believe what they are doing is right in their perspective， people who scam others， people who have a pocket of morals， people who lust for power， and people who are just trying to survive。 This book doesn't shy away from some more dark and gritty themes from which I could see the author exploring more in the trilogy。 The worldbuilding， culture， and politics was woven seamlessly throughout but I found the characters to be the standout elements。 When we first start the book， we start to realize that Talyien isn't the Wolf of Oren-Yaro as we expected。 She has flaws， weaknesses， and is often pushed around by other warlords， but she does display glimpses strength and resilience。 The name comes with responsibilities and a reputation which far exceeded what Talyien was able to do in the previous five years。 My hope for her character arc is her recognizing that maybe she was never ready to be the Dragonlord so many years ago and she didn't live up to what the Wolf of Oren-Yaro is supposed to be。 Humility I think will be the first step in her growing in her role where she may one day become the true Wolf of Oren-Yaro that so many wanted her to be。 Now Rai， Rayyel， how would I like to drop kick him across the street。 Now he didn't get a lot of page time and so there is a lot left unsaid but the words he did choose to say in the limited time made me want to jump in the book and scream at him。 I am curious to see how his character arc progresses in the next book。 Overall， this was an engaging and action-packed and I can't wait to continue on to see how the story continues。 。。。more
Kristin
，
Could not put it down and immediately ordered the next 2 books in the trilogy。
Rachel 🔮🌙
，
3。5 ⭐️ close to a 4 for me but honestly the beginning was a little slow to sort of make any sense and the author goes off on tangents for like 6 paragraphs straight and while I understand the narrator is the main characterrecounting her experience to us I just think we’re getting these info dump memories that could have been more concise or sprinkled in to the story more instead of in random memory tangents。 I love Khine though♥️ and I think the pacing was a bit all over the place and some thing 3。5 ⭐️ close to a 4 for me but honestly the beginning was a little slow to sort of make any sense and the author goes off on tangents for like 6 paragraphs straight and while I understand the narrator is the main characterrecounting her experience to us I just think we’re getting these info dump memories that could have been more concise or sprinkled in to the story more instead of in random memory tangents。 I love Khine though♥️ and I think the pacing was a bit all over the place and some things got skipped entirely only mentioned in 1 sentence that I would have liked to have seen more of。 And some things were drawn out forever that I didn’t care about lol I think it could have used a little more refining before it went to print but I think the story and characters are unique and I’m very intrigued and hopeful for the rest of the series ☺️ 。。。more
Camilla Hansen
，
TL;DR: Disliked MC and most other characters although they were very distinct， too much reflection on the past as a way of exposition / too many flashbacks， unsatisfying ending。 Not for me， maybe for someone else。It's not a bad book necessarily， but it's not at all what I wanted or expected， and not at all what I find enjoyable to read。It's not a complete 1 star book to me as I didn't hate it。 The writing， not looking at the excessive use of flashbacks and naval gazing， is not bad and didn't sta TL;DR: Disliked MC and most other characters although they were very distinct， too much reflection on the past as a way of exposition / too many flashbacks， unsatisfying ending。 Not for me， maybe for someone else。It's not a bad book necessarily， but it's not at all what I wanted or expected， and not at all what I find enjoyable to read。It's not a complete 1 star book to me as I didn't hate it。 The writing， not looking at the excessive use of flashbacks and naval gazing， is not bad and didn't stand out to me as being bad。 The author knows how to convey a scene perfectly fine in my opinion and the language used is very accessible without being too simple。The main character got on my nerves as did everyone else in the book。 The amount of tempers， wilful ignorance， elitism （silly other cultures being less civilized， amirite？） in different ways - it just all got on my nerves。 No one really were likable for me， but they WERE distinct as characters and I could distinguish them and remember them when they appeared。I'm the type of plot-driven reader that can forgive not liking the characters to an extent if I love the plot - if only there had been more plot and less reflecting on the past and actual flashbacks。 It took almost half the book to stop the exposition and filling in the blanks of the past through that and I didn't even enjoy it。 （view spoiler）[ There were also some super dissatisfying conflict at the end of the book with her husband which felt just as annoying as the misunderstanding/refuse to communicate trope。。。。 （hide spoiler）] When the book did start focusing more on the action and actual plot， I did enjoy it more， but the ending being as disappointing to me as it was nailed down my dislike for the book， though。This fell VERY short of my expectations in all aspects。 。。。more
Radi
，
mega levende univers， tali var en interessant og nådeløs heltinde， viiiildt plot med dramatiske twists， KHINE<3， lækre beskrivelser af mad， jeg blev så sulten af。。。 what's not to like😭 mega levende univers， tali var en interessant og nådeløs heltinde， viiiildt plot med dramatiske twists， KHINE<3， lækre beskrivelser af mad， jeg blev så sulten af。。。 what's not to like😭 。。。more
M
，
This book was a wild ride but I loved it。。。 The setting and the circumstances the characters went through made me feel a bit claustrophobic but I think it worked so well for this book。 Talyien has got to be one of the most annoyingly lovable characters ever。 I adored her， but man did I want to shake her into her senses from time to time。。。 You're a wolf my Queen， be the wolf and rip some throats out！ But I can't wait to see how she evolves during the rest of the series。 This book was a wild ride but I loved it。。。 The setting and the circumstances the characters went through made me feel a bit claustrophobic but I think it worked so well for this book。 Talyien has got to be one of the most annoyingly lovable characters ever。 I adored her， but man did I want to shake her into her senses from time to time。。。 You're a wolf my Queen， be the wolf and rip some throats out！ But I can't wait to see how she evolves during the rest of the series。 。。。more
Evelyn
，
I don't think I really connected with this story。。 Didn't really like the characters， nor was I very interested in the plot。。 Maybe my expectations were just very high from all the good things I had heard about it！ I don't think I really connected with this story。。 Didn't really like the characters， nor was I very interested in the plot。。 Maybe my expectations were just very high from all the good things I had heard about it！ 。。。more
Caitlin
，
Well… that was… a bummer。 I was so excited for this one。 I had bought it in print and ebook form and I was so ready to dive into this book （look at that cover！）。 Unfortunately， my excitement didn’t last long。 I can’t tell if it was me， if I’m the problem here。 The writing is well done but I never connected to the main character and I never cared about what would happen to her next （and it seemed like everything did happen to her， the plot wasn’t her decisions which I prefer）。 And I feel like onc Well… that was… a bummer。 I was so excited for this one。 I had bought it in print and ebook form and I was so ready to dive into this book （look at that cover！）。 Unfortunately， my excitement didn’t last long。 I can’t tell if it was me， if I’m the problem here。 The writing is well done but I never connected to the main character and I never cared about what would happen to her next （and it seemed like everything did happen to her， the plot wasn’t her decisions which I prefer）。 And I feel like once I can’t engage with the MC， you lose me。 I wanted to love it。 I really did。 And I chose not to rate it because I feel like it’s a little unfair？ I don’t know。 。。。more
Becci
，
The world building is awesome 。 I love the Asian inspiration and settings。 The MC is fascinating。 The gender stereotypes have been fully reversed which I loved。 I didn't quite get the full reasoning behind the "bitch queen" moniker but maybe thats expanded upon later。The story is very political which slowed the pace down a bit but my main gripe was that it started to feel a bit repetitive with the MC constantly getting into trouble and then having to get out of it。 There was one part of the thre The world building is awesome 。 I love the Asian inspiration and settings。 The MC is fascinating。 The gender stereotypes have been fully reversed which I loved。 I didn't quite get the full reasoning behind the "bitch queen" moniker but maybe thats expanded upon later。The story is very political which slowed the pace down a bit but my main gripe was that it started to feel a bit repetitive with the MC constantly getting into trouble and then having to get out of it。 There was one part of the threat or rape and sexual violence that I found very uncomfortable 。I am intrigued by the overall plot and want to read on。 Thank you to Orbit books for my gifted copy 。。。more
Bethany Bee
，
20% -- not quite grabbing me right now， but that may be more my current headspace than the book itself。
Bertie （LuminosityLibrary）
，
I enjoyed this book a lot！ It's very different from other adult fantasies， a lot more of a personal， intimate journey， intensified by its use of first-person perspective。 The main character is pretty messy， and her idea of who she is as a person doesn't match who she actually is。 I think people would struggle to enjoy this book if they didn't enjoy her as a character。 I did， so I had a lot of fun。 I'm not sold on the antagonist of this book， and sometimes I was just screaming about communicating I enjoyed this book a lot！ It's very different from other adult fantasies， a lot more of a personal， intimate journey， intensified by its use of first-person perspective。 The main character is pretty messy， and her idea of who she is as a person doesn't match who she actually is。 I think people would struggle to enjoy this book if they didn't enjoy her as a character。 I did， so I had a lot of fun。 I'm not sold on the antagonist of this book， and sometimes I was just screaming about communicating better， but I'm looking forward to the next one。Follow me on my Blog， Twitter， and Instagram。 。。。more
Ale
，
Read as part of the r/fantasy Book Bingo Challenge 2021 for the "Book with Chapter Titles" category。 Hard Mode for this square is a novel where the chapter titles are longer than one word。So， after realising that The Unspoken Name wouldn't qualify for my 'Chapter Title' hard mode bingo square （a couple of the chapters are one word only）， I scrambled to find a replacement and realised that I had had The Wolf of Oren-Yaro on my to-read list for a very long time。 Villoso is an interesting autho Read as part of the r/fantasy Book Bingo Challenge 2021 for the "Book with Chapter Titles" category。 Hard Mode for this square is a novel where the chapter titles are longer than one word。So， after realising that The Unspoken Name wouldn't qualify for my 'Chapter Title' hard mode bingo square （a couple of the chapters are one word only）， I scrambled to find a replacement and realised that I had had The Wolf of Oren-Yaro on my to-read list for a very long time。 Villoso is an interesting author， who achieved a level of fame and notoriety with her self-published work （and indeed this book was also originally self-pub）， before being signed by Orbit。 She's not the first self-pub author to have that happen （Josiah Bancroft is another famous example）， but she is a Filipino woman author and I was curious to see what her perspective on epic fantasy would read like。 Set in the world of her Agarthes Epilogues （which starts with Jaeth's Eye and which I haven't read - nor did I feel I had missed out by not reading）， The Wolf of Oren-Yaro tells the story of Queen Talyien， who on the night before her coronation， kills a man and exiles her husband。 What was meant to be an alliance that would end a civil war turns instead into an attempt for her to rule， while trying to keep her land from fragmenting further。 Five years on， she receives a message that will send her across the sea， in the search for reconciliation。 But when an assassination attempt has her on the run， Talyien will need to trust more than her instincts if she's to survive and truly uncover the secret of who's after her。 For the first few chapters， I didn't actually mind the setup。 Perhaps it's my own personal situation reflected here， but the story of Talyien and Rayyel， their falling out and his subsequent silence really resonated。 The love that she still feels for him， the attempt at reconciliation， the way she talks about Rayyel， I was really bought into it。 Their history is revealed throughout the course of the book， and I honestly wanted to believe there would be a happy ending of sorts for them。 But as the plot unravels further and further， I thought that Talyien's affection for Rayyel borders on the absolute daft and her choices seem baffling。 She acts more like a schoolgirl than a queen， driven purely by her determination to see him again， even in the face of what seems to be overwhelming evidence that he's not as honest as he appears to be。 But then bad thing after bad thing seems to befall Talyien and it just goes through an unrelenting misery fest as she tries to avoid being sexually assaulted several times， only to land in what feels like an even worse circumstance。 And listen， I get that the world Villoso is building here is structured in that way， with women being seen as lesser （I don't have to like it， but it's the narrative frame she's chosen to use and I won't comment on that）， but I am so tired of the thread to female characters always being rape。 There are scenes in a brothel （actually one of the few times that Talyien seems to use her brain before the 80% mark） which I felt would actually go the way of an assault but don't （points for that I guess） and where she very cleverly escapes， but those are followed by more scenes where she could be raped by bandits， by a nobleman， over and over in an unrelenting stream of awful shit。 It made for some miserable reading and because the entire arc hinges on this love between Talyien and Rayyel， the longer it went on the more I felt like it was a flimsy excuse。 Talyien as a character does actually feel like the best rounded one in the narrative。 She is flawed， conflicted， afraid and although she's been dubbed a Bitch Queen， she actually is a lot more sensitive than she lets on。 This ties in with the whole sexist makeup of the book， where she is the child raised to fight， wield a sword， to be the heir her father wants her to be， whereas Rayyel is depicted as being much more sensitive， more bookish， more introverted。 I found that a really interesting dynamic and I liked that Talyien doesn't go down the route of "not like other girls"。 She actually seems to appreciate the other female characters around her， she stands up for an abused wife and tries to get compassion for her （though it's from her abuser and well that was never going to end the way she expected it to）。 Her inner conflict is depicted really strongly and no matter how many issues I had with the narrative itself， I believed in Talyien and it's what kept me reading all the way to the end。 Perhaps， when you love less， it is easier not to let the emptiness become a cavern from which you could no longer see the sun。 And then， around the 70% mark or so， there is a moment where the entire narrative seems to shift。 It's a chapter that takes place in this strange liminal space and I don't want to say too much about it， because the revelations and the way it's framed really showcases Villoso's cultural background and heritage。 But after that， the plot seriously picks up the pace and it's unveiling after unveiling， all the way to the climactic finish。 It got to the point where I really couldn't put the book down， where I wanted to keep reading and cursed myself for being so tired that I couldn't stay awake long enough to finish another chapter。 By the end， I was sure that I would pick up the sequel （and I think it may even be this summer， the way my reading is going）。 The worldbuilding itself is interesting and there is even talk of magic， though children in Talyien's kingdom aren't encouraged to display it and indeed if they do， they're quietly "sent away" （or disposed of）。 There is even talk of dragons， though they are feeble and "mad"， but I'm such a sucker for dragons that I really， really hope they make another appearance in the books soon。 I still don't quite understand the reasoning behind Talyien's feelings for Rayyel （especially as events build up and the whole "night before the crowning" event is laid bare）， but then again perhaps I'm not really meant to - feelings aren't rational， after all。 I think the issue I had with this， ultimately， is that I just didn't believe in the strength of their relationship。 And when so much of the narrative hinges on it， it's really difficult to overlook。 I wanted to rate this book two stars， but with that ending， I had to bump up the rating。 So， I guess I'll be reading The Ikessar Falcon sooner rather than later！ 。。。more
Althea
，
Three stars？？？ I think？ Maybe？？？？ I just have a lot of questions。。。This rating might get changed after I digest the book fully but hmmmm。
Blake the Book Eater
，
This book was amazing！ A fast-paced thriller set in a Filipino-inspired fantasy world where a Queen is stranded in a foreign country and has to avoid assassins and duplicitous diplomats in order to fight her way back home to her son。There were so many amazing twists and turns and the characters were top-notch。 Highly recommend this if you're looking for more non-white fantasy！ This book was amazing！ A fast-paced thriller set in a Filipino-inspired fantasy world where a Queen is stranded in a foreign country and has to avoid assassins and duplicitous diplomats in order to fight her way back home to her son。There were so many amazing twists and turns and the characters were top-notch。 Highly recommend this if you're looking for more non-white fantasy！ 。。。more
Chelsea
，
3。75/5 stars。 At the beginning of this book I wasn’t quite sure if I would enjoy it。 This book is pretty character driven and it only follows one point of View。 About halfway through things definitely began to pick up and we get to see how characters intertwine with the main character。 After reading about halfway through I found myself more connected to the main character and the story itself。 And I found myself actually enjoying this book。 I will be continuing on with the series。
Ariana
，
I think I have a love/hate relationship with this book， the whole thing was a roller coaster of wanting to know what happens next， hoping it was good for once and then needing to take a break because I was holding my breath for the next thing to happen。 I just wanted something to go right for Tali， everything seemed against her and I spent half the book waiting for Khine to turn on her。 There was a lot of unexpected things throughout， I'm excited and entirely on edge for book two but not sure my I think I have a love/hate relationship with this book， the whole thing was a roller coaster of wanting to know what happens next， hoping it was good for once and then needing to take a break because I was holding my breath for the next thing to happen。 I just wanted something to go right for Tali， everything seemed against her and I spent half the book waiting for Khine to turn on her。 There was a lot of unexpected things throughout， I'm excited and entirely on edge for book two but not sure my emotions can handle more bad news for Queen Tali。 。。。more
Vanessa Zhang
，
I'm so conflicted about this book。 There were some extremely enjoyable chapters that were creative， dramatic， and fantastical， which makes me feel that it had the potential to be a great read。 But I have so many problems with the protagonist， Queen Talyien。 I loved the idea of a "Bitch Queen" and a "Wolf" as this strong， female leader， but I feel like the author couldn't decide if she wanted Talyien to be a helpless royal pining after her husband or the ruthless ruler and warrior that was seemin I'm so conflicted about this book。 There were some extremely enjoyable chapters that were creative， dramatic， and fantastical， which makes me feel that it had the potential to be a great read。 But I have so many problems with the protagonist， Queen Talyien。 I loved the idea of a "Bitch Queen" and a "Wolf" as this strong， female leader， but I feel like the author couldn't decide if she wanted Talyien to be a helpless royal pining after her husband or the ruthless ruler and warrior that was seemingly promised。 For example， in one moment she is lost and alone， helplessly demanding help from strangers in a foreign country with ignorant entitlement， and the next she's whipped out a knife and is slashing people down without hesitation or emotion。 What irks me the most is how every few chapters she finds out about some horrid action her husband has taken against her and is furiously thinking "How could he？"， but then when deciding her next course of action it inevitably becomes， find Rayyel and give him another chance because she loves him。 。。。more
Lainy
，
Interesting。 The main character is meant to a 26 year old adult but acts more like a spoiled 15 year old。 Way too much eating of cats but it must be a young adult book thing where cruelty to cats happens way too much。 Will I get book 2 I may just to see if the Queen gets what's coming to her Interesting。 The main character is meant to a 26 year old adult but acts more like a spoiled 15 year old。 Way too much eating of cats but it must be a young adult book thing where cruelty to cats happens way too much。 Will I get book 2 I may just to see if the Queen gets what's coming to her 。。。more
April Taylor
，
A good， strong start to a series。 Intrigue， more twists and betrayals than a soap opera。 Some truly despicable characters that you quickly hate， and a couple of characters that you like so much that you are praying that they too do not turn out to be despicable。。。。 Yeah， I enjoyed it and will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy
Jonathan Pembroke
，
I'd had this one on my shelf for a while and decided to finally get into it。 For me， this was a love/hate read。To start， I enjoyed the amount of detail in the setting。 I liked the world Villoso painted， especially when contrasting the cities the protagonist visited。 There was a hint of some dragon training and riding in the background， which I wanted to see more of。 Secondary characters felt distinct and fleshed out， even the over-the-top man behind the scenes。 Though the pace meandered a little I'd had this one on my shelf for a while and decided to finally get into it。 For me， this was a love/hate read。To start， I enjoyed the amount of detail in the setting。 I liked the world Villoso painted， especially when contrasting the cities the protagonist visited。 There was a hint of some dragon training and riding in the background， which I wanted to see more of。 Secondary characters felt distinct and fleshed out， even the over-the-top man behind the scenes。 Though the pace meandered a little in the middle of the book， the final third was a runaway sequence of action and revelations， capping with a very painful discussion between two people。The plot， I was relatively neutral on。 It had some twists and turns， and a few unexpected details but felt a little repetitive; the protagonist is captured， figures a way out， wanders a while， wash rinse and repeat。 Ultimately， though， I did take issue with the main character。 A queen jaunting off to find her husband， without any regard for the tenuous political situation at home--especially after five years--made her rather unbelievable。 More than that， in a culture where she was only a tentative leader with a lot of opposition， I do not believe she would have survived that long without being absolutely ruthless and hard-nosed。 She displayed flashes of that but not consistently enough。 It made it hard for me to connect with her， which lowered my enjoyment of the whole read。Overall， it's a well-written story but the main character just didn't make me want to cheer for her that much。 Filing under "possibly revisit down the road。" 。。。more
sassafrass
，
oh my god this took me SO LONG anyway the way this book advertises itself （HAIL TO THE FEARLESS BITCH QUEEN！！！！ NO MERCY！！！！ #COBRAKAI） is like almost entirely divorced from the actual CONTENTS which is very much a story of a woman trying her best to live up to the expectations of her father and her people which is like， more than fine！！！ but it would be nice to have had like。。。。anything on the back of this book reflect that。 at no point did i think tal was a bitch， just stubborn。。。maybe？ idk ma oh my god this took me SO LONG anyway the way this book advertises itself （HAIL TO THE FEARLESS BITCH QUEEN！！！！ NO MERCY！！！！ #COBRAKAI） is like almost entirely divorced from the actual CONTENTS which is very much a story of a woman trying her best to live up to the expectations of her father and her people which is like， more than fine！！！ but it would be nice to have had like。。。。anything on the back of this book reflect that。 at no point did i think tal was a bitch， just stubborn。。。maybe？ idk man i've read more morally grey ladies than this， and none of them cared about their very boring husbands this much。 。。。more
John Adams
，
There's a lot to like in this story of a queen who finds herself navigating bizarre political machinations in a foreign empire: the characters are interesting， the plot moves at a good and engaging clip， and the Asian-inspired worldbuild is quite cool。 The frustration lies with a protagonist who can't stop making terrible decisions while playing into a Byzantine conspiracy that only works because she keeps making those bad choices， leading up to the underwhelming revelation that the central conf There's a lot to like in this story of a queen who finds herself navigating bizarre political machinations in a foreign empire: the characters are interesting， the plot moves at a good and engaging clip， and the Asian-inspired worldbuild is quite cool。 The frustration lies with a protagonist who can't stop making terrible decisions while playing into a Byzantine conspiracy that only works because she keeps making those bad choices， leading up to the underwhelming revelation that the central conflict is both exactly what the reader expected and of a stupid type that should have been easily resolved。 。。。more
Jennrin
，
I read another review which mentioned the word "muddy" and I think that is very apt。 I am still interested in this world and our main characters and the politicking and romancing， but at times it felt like there was too much being explained/happening and yet not enough at the same time。 I was frustrated at times with our MC Talyien， her journey and her personality/world-view flip-flops。 But after competing this novel， I'm mostly frustrated at the ending。Wowwwwwwww that final confrontation was so I read another review which mentioned the word "muddy" and I think that is very apt。 I am still interested in this world and our main characters and the politicking and romancing， but at times it felt like there was too much being explained/happening and yet not enough at the same time。 I was frustrated at times with our MC Talyien， her journey and her personality/world-view flip-flops。 But after competing this novel， I'm mostly frustrated at the ending。Wowwwwwwww that final confrontation was so unsatisfying。 I was literally YELLING at Talyien to speak up and stand her ground。 （view spoiler）[Like seriously。 Fuck Rayyel。 Throw him all the way away。 Yeet him into the sun。 I was so upset for Talyien the entirety of the book after Rayyel's past unfaithfulness to her was revealed， but was still crossing my fingers that the romance and relationship she worked so hard to build would work out for her。 I seriously feel like that Tyra meme in regards to Rayyel: I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU - WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU。 I want to say the things he said to Talyien in the last chapter made me speechless， but that would be a lie。 I was literally yelling at this fuckboy to fuck all the way off。 But I wish that Talyien had done the same。 I hope she gets her moment to throw his infidelity back in his face the way he ground her nose in her one-night-stand。 And the things he said about their son？？？？ Don't even get me fucking started。 What a dickhead。 （hide spoiler）]So anyway。 Even though I had my issues with the pacing， characterization， and description of this novel， I am looking forward to continuing the series because of the visceral， emotional reaction that last chapter dragged out of me。 It felt good to yell at a fictional fuckboy and I hope that Talyien gets to do the same eventually。 <3 。。。more
Noha Badawi
，
I'm really sad that I'm DNFing this - at 60% - but right after the 30% things started to get tangled， too much and didn't make sense to me at all。 I was really enjoying it at first and was super intrigued by the story; it's just not clicking for me at all。 I'm really sad that I'm DNFing this - at 60% - but right after the 30% things started to get tangled， too much and didn't make sense to me at all。 I was really enjoying it at first and was super intrigued by the story; it's just not clicking for me at all。 。。。more
Mercedes
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I believe this is my first official adult fantasy read and I cannot believe it took me this long to cross over from young adult。 This book is a great read for anyone wanting to cross over from young adult into the adult realm。 I'm not gonna lie， when I saw this series was called the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen， I was sold。 The author did not fail me， our protagonist is hard worn warrior queen， but is also crippled by her longing to reunite with her estranged husband。 She is attacked multiple t I believe this is my first official adult fantasy read and I cannot believe it took me this long to cross over from young adult。 This book is a great read for anyone wanting to cross over from young adult into the adult realm。 I'm not gonna lie， when I saw this series was called the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen， I was sold。 The author did not fail me， our protagonist is hard worn warrior queen， but is also crippled by her longing to reunite with her estranged husband。 She is attacked multiple times by assasins， forced into a brothel， and receives a proposal from another Lord。 There is a nice balance of court customes and battles of wit along with the action expected from warriors。 There is a little sprinkling of magic through some mages， that I do wish we got to see more。 Hopefully in the series we can get some more， along with a guest appearance by the basilisk。 Fans of D and D， first time， and veteran fantasy readers will love this soon to be classic。 。。。more
Georgia
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I loved this book！ Could barely put it down！ Read it in about 8 hours。 It was honestly one of the best books I’ve read in a while， so much so that I had to buy the remainder of the series online and am now just waiting for them to come。I loved the suspense and ever building curiosity of what the series would foretell！ Particularly towards the end where there were many twists and turns that I had not though would happen！ If you are looking for a fantasy world with a badass Queen， swords and betra I loved this book！ Could barely put it down！ Read it in about 8 hours。 It was honestly one of the best books I’ve read in a while， so much so that I had to buy the remainder of the series online and am now just waiting for them to come。I loved the suspense and ever building curiosity of what the series would foretell！ Particularly towards the end where there were many twists and turns that I had not though would happen！ If you are looking for a fantasy world with a badass Queen， swords and betrayal I highly recommend this book！！！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Wolf of Oren-Yaro
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Wolf of Oren-Yaro&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Wolf of Oren-Yaro&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0