The Demon King is the first book of the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. Like other young adult books, The Demon King presents teens troubled with their past, future, and love. The reader is met with fiction and high fantasy, unleashing a completely different world ruled by magic and a dark past. In the Fells, a princess heir to a queendom is troubled with her love life and unsure what type of queen she wants to be for her people. Meanwhile, a young man trying to earn a clean living for his mother and sister is haunted by his past as a charming and ruthless street-lord. Raisa and Han have led different lives with little to compare. However, the collision of their lives will affect the whole queendom of the Fells and the seven realms.

The Demon King contains two protagonists that live different lives with their own set of motives, faults, and characteristics. Raisa, a strong-willed girl who wants to have a choice over her future, tries to do the best for the queendom and herself. Han, a charming, street-smart young man wants a better life for his family but can’t achieve much without reliving his dark past. These two have one thing in mind; they want more than just the title they were handed. Raisa wants to be a warrior queen. On the other hand, Han wants a clean life that his mother can be proud of and proves his curse wrong.

The book was amazing and it fit most of the qualifications I have for the books I love. It had me reading page after page, going on for hours. The Demon King was so riveting that all during CP, all I could do was read. I loved the history and background the book presented. I find it intriguing that The Demon King explains why things work the way they do, tying into theories of fate. It also still affects the characters during the present time. Truly “an auspicious start to the planned Seven Realms” (Publishers Weekly) series.