The Witchwood Crown

I originally quit reading this halfway through because it was such a slog but it just kept looking at me from my shelf demanding to be finished. So I figured I'd give it another shot and the very next chapter ramped up the story and I was hooked. Such a great beginning to a new series and in typical Tad fashion it is an extremely slow and character/world building story with a masterful ending with fantastic descriptions of creatures and characters.
You don't have to read the original trilogy but you'll vastly appreciate it more if you have since you get most of the original characters back that you love and you're already familiar with Ostend Ard, one of the best fictional lands to read about. The story follows Simon and Miriamele, still king and queen of Osten Ard but older and have a grandson named Morgan who is heir to the throne. The problem with Morgan is he's childish, entitled and a bit of a dumbass. Simon is torn between keeping his heir safe or risking his life to make a better man out of him.
Utuk'ku is back like she never left and more powerful than ever and she's ready to open up a can ‘o' whoop ass on the human race. There's also some hints to possibly a certain evil sorcerer that is still alive to claim vengeance over Simon??