“Requiem for a Queen” by Kaylin McFarren

Requiem for a Queen

Kaylin McFarren
Creative Edge Publishing (2022)
ISBN: 9798434809993
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (08/2022)

Samara Daemonium is having a hell of a time trying to deal with Lucifer, who considers her his queen despite her objections. Regardless of her high-ranking status, he enjoys brutalizing her while he holds her captive. Being a Nephalem makes her half angel and half demon. While she has special powers from both sides, she has not fully accessed them yet. They continue to grow, but Samara must learn how to use them. Samara finally has no choice but to escape in order to keep a huge secret from Lucifer. His daughter Lucinda finds out and makes trouble. This forces Samara to go on a quest. She must rely on help from others, which unfortunately must involve Lucifer. Samara’s mission also brings new people into her life, including some that are supernatural beings like dragons. She has to decide who can be trusted, and reconsider her estrangement from her family.

“Requiem for a Queen,” is the third book in the Gehenna series by Kaylin McFarren, following  “Soul Seeker,” and “Annihilation.” Readers will enjoy reading “Requiem for a Queen,” by itself, but since this dark fantasy continues from “Annihilation,” I would recommend reading the series in order if possible. It helps to have a lot of the background information and an understanding of the conflicts that are continuing, because they are very complex.

 McFarren did an amazing job creating this series. The characters and conflicts immediately draw the reader in. I love that while some of the flawed characters have redeeming qualities, others are completely wicked. The settings are described in vivid detail. Being that much of it takes place in hell, there is some extremely unsettling imagery, but that adds to the fun!

In “Requiem for a Queen,” the heroine goes through a great deal of character development, as do some supporting characters. In her case, not only is she discovering her powers but also being an angel/demon hybrid means that she needs to find a balance between the two sides. While her powers are growing, she is also learning how to figure out whom she can trust. This aspect adds a fascinating twist because she sometimes finds help in unexpected places. Nothing is black or white in this story. The colorful characters fall on the spectrum of being somewhere between good or evil, and many times, their motivations help direct where they fall. The complexity is intriguing.

I highly recommend “Requiem for a Queen” and the entire Gehenna series by Kaylin McFarren and I look forward to reading more works by this talented author. I hope I will see some of these characters again in future stories!