The Queen's Secret is the sequal to the Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George.
I really liked this book, though I think I liked the first in the series just a tad bit better.
I still really love this book, the characters, the setting, and everything else about it.
So if your a girl who loves horses, or a person who loves horses or a person who loves good books, read it. ( )

{Second of 3(?); Rose Legacy series. Fantasy, children’s, YA} (2019)

Set in a world that is parallel Victorian/ beginning steam-punk with only trains and a few motorcars, this story seems to take off some months after the first book, with Anthea riding through Coronam in a horse brigade that has been set up under royal auspices so as to get the population used to seeing horses. Somewhat presciently (I'm reading this in May 2020) an unknown plague - much like the one that wiped out horses in Coronam years ago - sweeps the country and the horses and riders are recalled north of the border as scientists race to try to find a cure.

The queen does have a secret which is quite important but it doesn't come into play until later on in the story.

So it had been shocking, and more than a little hurtful, that the queen had chosen to tell Finn her secret. The fact that she had authorized Finn to tell Anthea and Jilly, Andrew and Caillin MacRennie only softened it a little. Why did Finn get to be the first one?
...
But things had turned out a bit differently, she had written. Because she had risen so far, so fast, she had never found any friends that could be trusted with her secret. In person the dowager queen, her mother-in-law, was far from the grandmotherly lady she had seemed to be at official functions. And the king? All Queen Josephine would say was that she had never summoned the courage to tell her husband ...

I found this sequel better written but there are some weaknesses where the set-up from the first book is lacking; for example, Anthea notices a barn for the first time, even though she's been living and working on the farm for a while, and more characters have materialised in this second book although they are written in as though they've been there all along. There are some deaths in the story but I didn't feel a connection to them as we hadn't met them before, so I think this book still falls in the YA/ children's category as it wasn't traumatic.

I liked the characters - except, of course, for the villains; but even they have several facets. People who seem good may not be and those who seem unlikeable have their good points. I am intrigued by what I've seen of the history of the land and I hope we get to explore that further.

There are a couple of chapters where we’re in the head of one or other of the horses. I found that these didn't work for me, especially the ones from the herd stallion's point of view which I felt didn’t add to story. (Probably because they didn't feel like the horses I'm used to - but then, I confess that I have limited experience with horses, only knowing those from Riding for the Disabled stables - who may have a different outlook on life.) It made most of the stallions feel a bit subservient and I felt that the names given to humans by the horses (like 'the soon king' and 'beloved Anthea') were a bit awkward-sounding.

These are small quibbles; overall, I enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to, hopefully, seeing some of the mysteries resolved and fairness prevail. This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Fortunately I’ve just checked author’s website and next book ([The Rider’s Reign], which is not listed on LT yet) is out on 2nd June; I hope library picks it up soon.

Notes:

For some reason, the books in this series keep reminding me of other stories that they have similar elements to. I’ll just keep a list:
Green Rider (Britain)
Arrows of the Queen (Lackey)
Dragonquest (McCaffrey)
His Dark Materials (Pullman)
Stardust (Gaiman)

3.5 stars ( )