Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (and an apology for taking so long to get to this).

The Queen of Grass and Tree is the followup book to the excellent Southwind Knights. The novella picks up where book one left off, with our heroes leaving for the Queendom's Capital City.

I enjoyed getting to know Finn, now fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the first volume. We also find out a bit more about Galen's past - just enough to wet my appetite!
Despite this, I didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as the first, mainly due to the problem I had with Asher's roller-coaster ride through palace life. I found it hard to believe that the Queen would allow Asher, a fellow she'd never met until the day before, be her close personal servant. I think part of this is due to the stories length, as the short format prevented this from being drawn out to a more realistic timeline.

However, I loved everything else about this novella. The world is rich and complex, but the author doesn't go overboard in his descriptions. All the characters are well rounded and complex, with no stereo-typical good or evil tropes to be seen.

There is a lot of character development with Finn and Asher, and we learn more about the mysterious healing powers Asher gained in the first volume.

The ending left me craving more, and eager to move on to the next installment in this amazing series. ( )