Re-Review: Heaven's Queen (Rachel Bach)

Title: Heaven's Queen
Series: Paradox, Book 3
Author: Rachel Bach
Publisher: Orbit
US Release Date: April 22, 2014
Genre: Adult Paranormal Science Fiction
Content Rating: Adult (heavy violence, some language, child mistreatment, sexual content)
Format Read: Paperback
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Indiebound | B&N | BookDepo | Azon
Summary:

From the moment she took a job on Captain Caldswell's doomed ship, Devi Morris' life has been one disaster after another: government conspiracies, two alien races out for her blood, an incurable virus that's eating her alive.

Now, with the captain missing and everyone -- even her own government -- determined to hunt her down, things are going from bad to impossible. The sensible plan would be to hide and wait for things to blow over, but Devi's never been one to shy from a fight, and she's getting mighty sick of running.

It's time to put this crisis on her terms and do what she knows is right. But with all human life hanging on her actions, the price of taking a stand might be more than she can pay.

*          *          *

Series: This is the third and final book in the Paradox trilogy. All are released and available. You can read my review of Book 1: Fortune's Pawn here, and re-read review of Book 2: Honor's Knight here.

After my original 2014 read of the trilogy, this third and final book was my least favorite because, as my original brief review declared, there was "way too much introspection and discussion where there should've just been action, and because of this the climax dragged on way to long (almost half the book)." That opinion now surprises me after this 2020 re-read because, while I can see in retrospect where those feelings came from, I didn't hold to them this time around. 

There are really two parts/halves to Heaven's Queen: on-the-run, and the climax. The first half sees Devi trying to keep away from capture while at the same time make some kind of progress towards doing some good with the cards she's been dealt. It's a lot of action-rest-infodump-repeat sequences, but this read I felt the action-to-discussion ratio was pretty well balanced. I also enjoyed the longer bouts of downtime (except for the romantic sappiness it encouraged) along with the bits of quieter galactic exploration as Devi visited some interesting planets and stations in search of help and answers. 

And then the second-half climax kicked in. Almost all breathless and violent action, Devi fights tooth and nail to see her wild plan through against literally all odds. While it is long, it's a thrill-ride with a few twists that granted I wasn't particularly impressed with but they kept the story and the characters on their toes until the explosive end. Despite all of the physical and emotional pain the story concludes on a surprisingly happy note with everything wrapped up rather neat and tidy - not exactly plausible, but I've never enjoyed the depressive aftertaste of a melancholy finish so I gratefully ignored the inconsistency and reveled with Devi in the win of a job well done. 

Through it all Devi maintained her kick-arse personality and moral convictions and remained the best reason to read this series, although the sappy romantic struggles created by her perceived weakness of her feelings for Rupert took up a bit too much time in my opinion. Rupert continued to be his charming if tortured self and only grew more adorable despite the nauseating sappiness he brought to the book - and brought out in Devi. But theirs is a sweet and fierce female-dominated romance and, for all its passion, Ace me definitely considers it a favorite.

Conclusion: While it had a little more discussion and sappiness than I prefer and the paranormal plot continued to be ridiculous right to the finish, overall I enjoyed this re-read more than my original 2014 one due to the on-the-run first half and thrill-packed second. The end wrapped up way too neat for the violent mess the story was, but I appreciated that most of the characters got what they wanted. A must-read if you enjoyed the first two.

Scribble Rating: 

4 of 5 Scribbles

Series Conclusion: While I felt the paranormal aspects diminished this otherwise thrilling sci-fi action-adventure trilogy about a kick-arse female warrior and her violent escapades, Devi was a solid and engrossing character and despite my problems with the mystical plot I pretty thoroughly enjoyed myself (some language, sex, and sappiness aside). If you like a decent paranormal sci-fi read then this is series not to be missed.

Series Scribble Rating: 

4 of 5 Scribbles

Other Reviews That Might Interest: 

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach
Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen