A review by buffy_garden
The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

fast-paced

5.0

What an incredible duology. This book felt like a great lesson in not judging a book by its cover. By the cover, I expected a Princess with a heart of gold (but also a badass) takes back her kingdom, but it was much more compelling than that. I continually kept changing my mind how I felt about the characters and what I hoped would happen. There were real stakes and many heart wrenching moments. There were many times I felt frustrated by a character's choices, but ultimately it felt very believable and real. Meadows does a great job making you feel the utter exhaustion the characters are experiencing and I couldn't help but feel understanding towards their mistakes.

For part of the book, I had a very love/hate feeling towards Tobiah. I found him very charming, funny, and thoughtful and I totally understood why Wilhelmina fell for him. I hated the way it felt like he was stringing along Wilhelmina when he kept pursing his upcoming marriage to Meredith. When Chrysalis murdered Meredith, I thought "there is no way for them to move forward". My thoughts on that felt confirmed by Tobiah's actions after the fact. I actually started rooting for Wilhelmina and James to fall in love. Meadows did an amazing job of pacing them finding their way back to each other. It felt earned. After their trauma, I think it puts things in perspective. I'm so glad that Wilhemina hugged Chrysalis and told him she wishes she would have got to know him. She obviously had too much on her plate to really form a relationship with him, but I loved that she was able to recognize him as a being that was doing the best he could. I felt devastated by his and Jame's sacrifice. This book is a powerful reminder of how great a story is when there are actual stakes- like beloved characters dying and a villain that isn't destroyed in one battle. I also really loved having such a complicated love story. I get the appeal of the perfect book boyfriend, but it's refreshing to have a love interest who isn't obsessed with the woman and has other interests and priorities.