Scan barcode
vermilionred's review against another edition
4.0
Felt like the good setup to a longer trilogy. Not totally sure where it's going, but very excited to find out. I'm very hopeful that it will involve many dragons.
Liked the protagonist, who felt... mature, in that she was set in her ways, and had realistic adult concerns, and realistically like she had a lot of growing to do in unlearning things that had been beaten into her in childhood and since her husband left. I liked that she loved him, and he didn't love her back, without ever making her seem pathetic for it. I liked that it addressed the deep hypocrisy and inherent injustice of the reason that he left her, and I liked that she made bad choices for realistic reasons. I liked that she defended him, even though the narrative didn't.
Liked the protagonist, who felt... mature, in that she was set in her ways, and had realistic adult concerns, and realistically like she had a lot of growing to do in unlearning things that had been beaten into her in childhood and since her husband left. I liked that she loved him, and he didn't love her back, without ever making her seem pathetic for it. I liked that it addressed the deep hypocrisy and inherent injustice of the reason that he left her, and I liked that she made bad choices for realistic reasons. I liked that she defended him, even though the narrative didn't.
c_soup10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
quadratic_queen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
evamadera1's review against another edition
4.5
I absolutely loved this book. Villoso created a fascinating fantastical world based in SouthEast Asian mythology and culture. It has a touch of political intrigue which I think will get explored further in the subsequent books, as well as complex mature relationships which only start to get explored in this first book in the series. This queen finds her world completely upended both in what she believes and also physically with multiple assassination attempts. I cannot wait to continue in the series.
jodiemitch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
storytimed's review against another edition
3.0
Since my brother has been home recently he's been tearing through fantasy books, including this one
So we're in the living room reading and I see him set down the book about three-quarters of the way through and say "Bruh. Rubber bullets."
This is a reference to the renowned Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza) game series, which has the very stupid plot twist that a guy who thinks he's a murderer actually has never killed anyone, because his gun was shooting rubber bullets
When I finally got around to reading this, that reaction made me brace for a stupid plot twist............ and in fact, multiple of them did arrive
Stupid plot twist one: The protagonist's father was playing 5D chess from beyond the grave and began a secret conspiracy within her kingdom to get her married to this mage jackass.
Stupid plot twist two: The protagonist has been hiding this the whole time, but apparently her husband ditched because she cheated on him when they were only engaged, even though she only did it because she saw him cheating on her.
I picked up this book really excited because the series title Chronicles of the Bitch-Queen primed me for a super badass, competent and mean type, but unfortunately Tali is................. the opposite of that
Like, she can fight! But she's just bad at being a queen
Every five minutes she realizes something bad that's happening in her own damn kingdom and she's like "oh yeah, I was meaning to get around to doing something about that"
Every time she trusts someone they immediately betray her
She's just...... bad lol
To the book's credit, other characters are constantly giving her shit about what an awful queen she is
But it can be very frustrating to read. As realistic as it is for someone raised by her terrible dad to be bad at communication, her going wow I wonder if my husband will tell me why he left and he left me this letter but I didn't read it lol made me want to throw my book AT HER, TALI, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS
The vibe is very soap opera? Rich girl who doesn't want to be a rich girl and just wants to be loved, individual cool moments of intelligence that never coalesce into some sort of long-term thinking, deus ex machinas where she's just constantly getting rescued by random men from her past
However the writing was good and the plot interesting enough for me to keep reading so.............. you'll see more rants about this series
crimsoncor's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best fantasy novels I've read in awhile. While reading it I was thinking how much this story felt (in a good way) like a open-world RPG. There is so much happening off-screen in the world, so that it constantly feels like your character is dipping into some new bit of lore. Tali is the main character in this book, but she never feels like she is the main character in the world. This is the sort of world-building that Martin got so right in the Game of Thrones novels, where the world felt so much bigger than any individual character. (I felt very justified when I read the author interview at the end of the novel and Villoso explained that this world started out as an open-world RPG that she was designing).
And what a main character Tali is. Take the traditional Bitch Queen trope. Subvert it with a hint of compassion and a massively dollop of self-doubt. Place her in an impossible political situation where it is unclear if anything she can do will actually succeed, but where she will feel each failure as a direct indictment of her as a human and as a royal. Agitate things and stand back. There is so much to unpack here and yet the novel never feels rushed or hurried. The little side-plots get adequate time and let you delve more into the amazing characters (Khine--the con man with the heart of gold, but with a darker side that is very hidden. Lo Bahn--The exact proper mix of arrogance, corruption, honor, and restraint). And also, what a delight to spend time in an expansive fantasy world with basically no European trappings.
And what a main character Tali is. Take the traditional Bitch Queen trope. Subvert it with a hint of compassion and a massively dollop of self-doubt. Place her in an impossible political situation where it is unclear if anything she can do will actually succeed, but where she will feel each failure as a direct indictment of her as a human and as a royal. Agitate things and stand back. There is so much to unpack here and yet the novel never feels rushed or hurried. The little side-plots get adequate time and let you delve more into the amazing characters (Khine--the con man with the heart of gold, but with a darker side that is very hidden. Lo Bahn--The exact proper mix of arrogance, corruption, honor, and restraint). And also, what a delight to spend time in an expansive fantasy world with basically no European trappings.
emilye3's review against another edition
4.0
I’m so happy I read this. At first I was a little annoyed of the FMC but as the book went on I grew to like her more and Khine (a side character) I absolutely loved! By the end of this book the plot became more clear and the dynamics and reasoning behind characters also became more clear. I can’t wait to pick up the next book!
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!