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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This book caused so many feelings in me I'd have a hard time explaining it all, but, ultimately, it was great. I loved the main characters, I loved the queens, and I also quite loved the fact that everyone else was kind of disgusting and evil. I'd heard good things about this book, but I was pleasantly surprised still. I was hesitant over the fact this is a stand-alone fantasy and I haven't had the best experience with that, but Astrid Scholte gave this story a satisfying (and not rushed) ending.
Spoiler
In the end, I'm just really glad Keralie and Varin are happy and together and able to build a new life with each other. They made me way too emotional.
Uma palavra: Perfeito!
Não sei como Astrid Scholte o conseguiu, mas fiquei completamente intrínseca com a história oferecida pelo livro, ao ponto de não conseguir parar de ler até saber o seu desfecho final. O plot inicial parece ser algo simples, que aos poucos vai criando novas formas e novas intrigas que nos deixam a pensar que não podemos confiar em nenhum dos personagens. Apenas nos protagonistas. Mas como eu já tenho uma certa experiência de que todos podem trair todos (quote de Rainha Vermelha).
O romance esteve pouco inserido na história pelo simples facto de que não era o foco principal. No entanto, deu-nos a oportunidade de ver o desenvolvimento dos personagens, conhecer a sua real essência e até tirar algumas lições de reflexão através disso. Além de ser um livro de mistério que nos obriga a pensar quem é o responsável pelas mortes e o que está em risco, também nos traz certos pensamentos de reflexão sobre quão perfeito pode ser um mundo que tenta erradicar as suas fraquezas e se concentrar em um aspeto em especial. Somos humanos, sempre em mudança e incapazes de nos controlar ou a nossa natureza. E isso é uma outra coisa que também é mostrada no livro à medida que a história avança e nos ligamos mais aos personagens. O quão perfeita pode ser uma máscara e quanto tempo pode ela durar até se partir?
Recomendo esta leitura, não só pela história como pelo conteúdo entre linhas. De um livro que apenas comecei a ler pela oportunidade, tornou-se uma leitura que devorei sem pensar duas vezes.
Não sei como Astrid Scholte o conseguiu, mas fiquei completamente intrínseca com a história oferecida pelo livro, ao ponto de não conseguir parar de ler até saber o seu desfecho final. O plot inicial parece ser algo simples, que aos poucos vai criando novas formas e novas intrigas que nos deixam a pensar que não podemos confiar em nenhum dos personagens. Apenas nos protagonistas. Mas como eu já tenho uma certa experiência de que todos podem trair todos (quote de Rainha Vermelha).
O romance esteve pouco inserido na história pelo simples facto de que não era o foco principal. No entanto, deu-nos a oportunidade de ver o desenvolvimento dos personagens, conhecer a sua real essência e até tirar algumas lições de reflexão através disso. Além de ser um livro de mistério que nos obriga a pensar quem é o responsável pelas mortes e o que está em risco, também nos traz certos pensamentos de reflexão sobre quão perfeito pode ser um mundo que tenta erradicar as suas fraquezas e se concentrar em um aspeto em especial. Somos humanos, sempre em mudança e incapazes de nos controlar ou a nossa natureza. E isso é uma outra coisa que também é mostrada no livro à medida que a história avança e nos ligamos mais aos personagens. O quão perfeita pode ser uma máscara e quanto tempo pode ela durar até se partir?
Recomendo esta leitura, não só pela história como pelo conteúdo entre linhas. De um livro que apenas comecei a ler pela oportunidade, tornou-se uma leitura que devorei sem pensar duas vezes.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Neste livro conhecemos a cidade de Quadara. Dividida em 4 cidades diferentes: Archia, Eonia, Toria e Ludia. E, cada uma das cidades é reinada por uma rainha diferente.
⠀⠀
4 cidades com costumes e modos de vida diferentes mas ligados pelas Leis das Rainhas. Existe ainda a HIDRA capaz de curar todas as doenças mas só há uma dose por ano, estão a ver o dilema?
⠀⠀
As regras só existem para ser quebradas. Especialmente a 8ª, que impedia as Rainhas de se apaixonarem pois o amor é considerado uma perda de tempo.
⠀⠀
Keralie vive em Toria entre roubos e leilões é uma das lacaias de Mackiel. Com mãos ágeis rouba Verin, um mensageiro de Eonia, sem saber o valor da sua mercadoria tenta vendê-la.
⠀⠀
Mas afinal aqueles chips valem muito mais do que umas moedas. Os chips continham memórias. E nessas memórias Keralie vê aos olhos do assassino o assassinato de cada uma das quatro rainhas...
⠀⠀
A escrita do livro está super interessante. Todo este universo de Quadara e a vida em cada quadrante. Os capítulos estão intercalados entre Keralie e as rainhas o que torna mais fácil perceber toda a ação do livro.
⠀⠀
A personalidade de Keralie foi uma das coisas que mais gostei. Apesar de ser uma ladra e ter postura de má, conseguimos ver uma criança indefesa e com medo de se afogar nos erros do passado.
⠀⠀
Verin, um rapaz cheio de sonhos, o pior é que no quadrante em que vive não lhe é permitido expressar emoções...
⠀⠀
Senti o final apressado, mas adorei a premissa da história!
⠀⠀
4 cidades com costumes e modos de vida diferentes mas ligados pelas Leis das Rainhas. Existe ainda a HIDRA capaz de curar todas as doenças mas só há uma dose por ano, estão a ver o dilema?
⠀⠀
As regras só existem para ser quebradas. Especialmente a 8ª, que impedia as Rainhas de se apaixonarem pois o amor é considerado uma perda de tempo.
⠀⠀
Keralie vive em Toria entre roubos e leilões é uma das lacaias de Mackiel. Com mãos ágeis rouba Verin, um mensageiro de Eonia, sem saber o valor da sua mercadoria tenta vendê-la.
⠀⠀
Mas afinal aqueles chips valem muito mais do que umas moedas. Os chips continham memórias. E nessas memórias Keralie vê aos olhos do assassino o assassinato de cada uma das quatro rainhas...
⠀⠀
A escrita do livro está super interessante. Todo este universo de Quadara e a vida em cada quadrante. Os capítulos estão intercalados entre Keralie e as rainhas o que torna mais fácil perceber toda a ação do livro.
⠀⠀
A personalidade de Keralie foi uma das coisas que mais gostei. Apesar de ser uma ladra e ter postura de má, conseguimos ver uma criança indefesa e com medo de se afogar nos erros do passado.
⠀⠀
Verin, um rapaz cheio de sonhos, o pior é que no quadrante em que vive não lhe é permitido expressar emoções...
⠀⠀
Senti o final apressado, mas adorei a premissa da história!
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"May the queens forever rule the day. Together, yet apart" (10).
Astrid Scholte's Four Dead Queens is a YA Science Fiction novel that takes place in Quadara: a dystopian world ruled by...wait for it...four queens (!!!). Quadara is separated into four "queendoms," with each "queendom" following a unique set of rules and ways of living:
Archia - Ruled by Queen Iris, Archia is an agricultural island that values hard work, simplicity, and nature. You won't find any electricity in this queendom
Eonia - Ruled by Queen Corra, Eonia is a frozen quadrant that values evolution, technology, and a harmonious society. Nothing grows in this land.
Toria - Ruled by Queen Marguerite, Toria is a coastal queendom that values exploration, curiosity, and commerce.
Ludia - Ruled by Queen Stessa, Ludia is a "pleasure" quadrant that values music, art and entertainment, and frivolity.
I found the four queendoms of Quadara to be very similar to the five factions in Veronica Roth's Divergent series, with each area focusing on a specific trait: nature, technology, exploration, and frivolity. While the people living in the quadrants are allowed to move freely between each one, the queens cannot. Once they ascend the throne, a queen is not allowed to leave the palace due to "Queenly Law:" thirteen rules that all queens MUST obey.
Four Dead Queens is told in multiple POV through the eyes of the four queens (third person), and the main character, Keralie Corrington (first person): a seventeen-year-old thief who gets involved in this murder mystery when she steals a package from an Eonist—Varin—that contains comm chips. When she swallows the comm chips, she discovers a plot to kill the queens.
I have to say, I thought the murder mystery part to this story was well done. There were so many twists and turns. Just when I thought I knew who the culprit was, there would be another twist that had me second guessing myself. I also liked how Scholte included the perspectives of the four queens as it added depth to their characters and made you really feel for them.
That being said, the world-building was sadly lacking. This is a dystopian world, and the story barely scratches the surface. We get a glimpse of Toria and Eonia because Keralie and Varin hail from those quadrants, but Ludia and Archia are only mentioned. They don't serve a purpose in this story other than to add two other queendoms.
Four Dead Queens is a standalone, but I think it could've benefited as a duology. There's just too much to this world that isn't explained or used. Near the beginning, we're told there was a king of Quadara 400 years prior who took a wife from each region, and that's how they ended up with four queens, but that's really all you get from the narrative. 400 years is a lot of history that could've been utilized.
Then there's the romance...
Keralie's romantic interest is revealed in the synopsis, so this isn't a spoiler, but even if they hadn't divulged that little detail, you would know right away that it's Varin. As soon as he shows up, she's ogling him.
The romance really didn't make any sense and was completely unnecessary. For Keralie, it's almost an insta-love, and for Varin...well...I'm not 100% sure why he falls for her? Keralie tries to be an anti-heroine, but she just ends up coming off as selfish and unlikable. She does go through a bit of growth as the narrative progresses, but the pair don't spend enough time together to warrant a romance. Not only that, but this story is mainly a murder mystery—the romance just doesn't fit when queens are being offed every few hours.
Overall, Four Dead Queens strength lies in the mystery. Everything else is underdeveloped and never has the chance to grow in this standalone. The writing is fairly decent, but even then, there are issues with dialogue tags and weird adverbial phrases (nodded infinitesimally?) among other things.
Check out the rest of my reviews at alynnthelibrarian.com!
Astrid Scholte's Four Dead Queens is a YA Science Fiction novel that takes place in Quadara: a dystopian world ruled by...wait for it...four queens (!!!). Quadara is separated into four "queendoms," with each "queendom" following a unique set of rules and ways of living:
Archia - Ruled by Queen Iris, Archia is an agricultural island that values hard work, simplicity, and nature. You won't find any electricity in this queendom
Eonia - Ruled by Queen Corra, Eonia is a frozen quadrant that values evolution, technology, and a harmonious society. Nothing grows in this land.
Toria - Ruled by Queen Marguerite, Toria is a coastal queendom that values exploration, curiosity, and commerce.
Ludia - Ruled by Queen Stessa, Ludia is a "pleasure" quadrant that values music, art and entertainment, and frivolity.
I found the four queendoms of Quadara to be very similar to the five factions in Veronica Roth's Divergent series, with each area focusing on a specific trait: nature, technology, exploration, and frivolity. While the people living in the quadrants are allowed to move freely between each one, the queens cannot. Once they ascend the throne, a queen is not allowed to leave the palace due to "Queenly Law:" thirteen rules that all queens MUST obey.
Four Dead Queens is told in multiple POV through the eyes of the four queens (third person), and the main character, Keralie Corrington (first person): a seventeen-year-old thief who gets involved in this murder mystery when she steals a package from an Eonist—Varin—that contains comm chips. When she swallows the comm chips, she discovers a plot to kill the queens.
I have to say, I thought the murder mystery part to this story was well done. There were so many twists and turns. Just when I thought I knew who the culprit was, there would be another twist that had me second guessing myself. I also liked how Scholte included the perspectives of the four queens as it added depth to their characters and made you really feel for them.
That being said, the world-building was sadly lacking. This is a dystopian world, and the story barely scratches the surface. We get a glimpse of Toria and Eonia because Keralie and Varin hail from those quadrants, but Ludia and Archia are only mentioned. They don't serve a purpose in this story other than to add two other queendoms.
Four Dead Queens is a standalone, but I think it could've benefited as a duology. There's just too much to this world that isn't explained or used. Near the beginning, we're told there was a king of Quadara 400 years prior who took a wife from each region, and that's how they ended up with four queens, but that's really all you get from the narrative. 400 years is a lot of history that could've been utilized.
Then there's the romance...
Keralie's romantic interest is revealed in the synopsis, so this isn't a spoiler, but even if they hadn't divulged that little detail, you would know right away that it's Varin. As soon as he shows up, she's ogling him.
The romance really didn't make any sense and was completely unnecessary. For Keralie, it's almost an insta-love, and for Varin...well...I'm not 100% sure why he falls for her? Keralie tries to be an anti-heroine, but she just ends up coming off as selfish and unlikable. She does go through a bit of growth as the narrative progresses, but the pair don't spend enough time together to warrant a romance. Not only that, but this story is mainly a murder mystery—the romance just doesn't fit when queens are being offed every few hours.
Overall, Four Dead Queens strength lies in the mystery. Everything else is underdeveloped and never has the chance to grow in this standalone. The writing is fairly decent, but even then, there are issues with dialogue tags and weird adverbial phrases (nodded infinitesimally?) among other things.
Check out the rest of my reviews at alynnthelibrarian.com!
*4.5
Damn that ending was good. Like I was generally enjoying this book throughout the whole thing, but once you hit a certain point towards the end it just takes off at the speed of light and kept me constantly on my toes. I haven't been this surprised by a book in a loooong time.
Damn that ending was good. Like I was generally enjoying this book throughout the whole thing, but once you hit a certain point towards the end it just takes off at the speed of light and kept me constantly on my toes. I haven't been this surprised by a book in a loooong time.
This one did not pick up for me until the last quarter of the book!! By then it was too late to change my opinion. Worth the read, won’t revisit in the future.
I absolutely devoured this in two days! Why isn't it talked about more? A fantasy/murder mystery blend with a perfectly balanced romance subplot deserves more attention! I found the queens, and eventually the main characters, so interesting and well developed. The plot twists were great, albeit not really foreshadowed enough. I had some issues, including that lack of foreshadowing and not really committing to the main character's phobia, BUT it was so compelling that I wanted to keep reading for hours at 1am and it was super well written. I'm still indecisive about the rating, it's probably closer to 4.5. This is the most fun I've had with a book in a while, and it's so unique and original - I highly recommend it!