Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

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Book summary:

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exilescoalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume.

After the reviews for Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles it's time for the final book in this series. I hope you'll enjoy our review for Quintana of Charyn. 

Tanja: You know how they say - All good things come to an end, that's the case with this series. Being in this magical world was an amazing experience. But before I go and cry my heart out (I'll miss this series badly) let's talk about this book. I already assume that our readers are ready for our worships. Don't you think girl?
Glass: Well, I'm afraid that we bored them to death with our reviews of Melina Marchetta books and they will just skip this review. But we love it so much! We can't help ourselves! I don't know about you, but I am ready to cry for the rest of my life because I've read all of her books.
Tanja: I still have Looking for Alibrandi left but I really hope she'll publish something soon. Anyhow again it'll be hard to talk about this because it's the third book in the series, but let's try. You know what I really like here? Well, I'll tell you. I like it how we have different narrators and basically stories, but I wasn't confused for a moment here. Somehow you always know what's happening where.
Glass: You took words from my mouth (or should I say, you typed it). I usually find multiple POVs annoying because authors use it mostly in romance novels to show story from male and female perspective. It isn't luckiest choice in most cases because it is pathetic attempt to create ultimate female fantasy - bad boy who acts like brute and feels like 15 years old girl. Melina Marchetta pulled it off masterfully. It's almost as if you jump into the body of Froi, Quintana or Finnikin. You can feel that it's someone else's thoughts and voice.
Tanja: Exactly, there was no way to get lost and your feelings changed as the narrations changed. I really loved that aspect of her writing. (Is there the end of our "why we love Melina Marchetta?" list? - Honestly I don't think so!). Another thing, I admire those people who read Froi just after the book came out and then had to wait for Quintana. I'd go mad, probably even walk to Australia.
Glass: I'm really happy that we waited this long to read this series. It's weird how you get completely different impression of author reading hers or his realistic and fantasy novels. Melina rocks on both fields. Speaking of everything we liked, I have to say that my favorite thing about this book is ending. I think most of the readers will be satisfied with how everything came to its place, but still it is kind of open ending. So much things can happen, everything isn't written in the stars. It feels somehow real.
Tanja: Yes, I think that waiting really payed off in this case. We got to meet Melina that rocks contemporary world but then you get to see that she rock fantasy world as well. I wanted to say that, you're always stealing worlds from my mouth (but you know great minds think alike *winks*). Yes nowadays authors tend to leave open endings but it's hard to find balance but as usual Melina rocks that too. I really liked that little dose of mystery that stayed with us while you're completely happy with the ending itself.
Glass: So who is your favorite character? And you can not cheat - pick only one, male or female! I 'd say Phaedra. She went trough such transformation from the first time we meet her. You know that I'm sucker for girl power.
Tanja: Because you picked Phaedra I'll go with Lucian. Most of male characters here are dream-worthy but Lucian really found his place under my skin. Luckily I know he is in good hands so I'm happy for that.

        All in all, we really enjoyed this series and this is one of the series we wish never ended. As always Melina's stories were outstanding and brilliant. We eagerly wait for more.

Rating: From 1 to 5, we'll go with zillion.

Thank you for the wonderful comments and we really hope that we'll see your reviews for this series. 

Until the next time,