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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This is the first book that I have actually managed to start and finish in September, so kudos to this book for helping me get out of a slump. HOWEVER, it wasn't my favourite book in the world. Let's get the cons out the way first.
I was really unconvinced about the romance sub plot in this novel. The book covers four days and by the end of it, our two main characters who had never before met... were confessing they wanted to live together for the rest of their lives. Aaaaaw *gag* I hated it. Okay, well maybe that's being a bit dramatic, I don't think it was problematic I just was NOT feeling the passion between them. Then the writing style felt very stilted, I didn't care for it.
What did the book do well though? Well, I really liked the premise of four queens ruling together yet over their own quadrants. There were some plot twists that I didn't see coming - although if I stopped and thought about if for a sec I probs would have figured it out. There was also a good map which I always be appreciate.
Look, it was okay but I'm putting this book in my sell/donate pile and personally won't be revisiting it again.
I was really unconvinced about the romance sub plot in this novel. The book covers four days and by the end of it, our two main characters who had never before met... were confessing they wanted to live together for the rest of their lives. Aaaaaw *gag* I hated it. Okay, well maybe that's being a bit dramatic, I don't think it was problematic I just was NOT feeling the passion between them. Then the writing style felt very stilted, I didn't care for it.
What did the book do well though? Well, I really liked the premise of four queens ruling together yet over their own quadrants. There were some plot twists that I didn't see coming - although if I stopped and thought about if for a sec I probs would have figured it out. There was also a good map which I always be appreciate.
Look, it was okay but I'm putting this book in my sell/donate pile and personally won't be revisiting it again.
3.5 stars rounded up
Four Dead Queens...breaks no new ground but is a fun read. Be patient! It starts off slowly before gathering steam. Keralie, 17, is determined to live a life of her own choosing not of her family's. She's drawn into the seamy underworld with a childhood friend, Mackiel, and becomes a consummate thief and pickpocket. Very Dickensian. Only Mackiel, the Fagin-like character, is the orphan, not Keralie. Keralie is drawn into a dangerous cat and mouse game between Mackiel and an unknown adversary who have plans to devastate the monarchy and install their own Queen. Keralie is the unwitting pawn. Like I said, not new territory. Keralie and Varin become reluctant partners as they flee for their lives from Mackiel and his henchmen. Both are full of regrets and unfulfilled desires and it's this commonality that tethers them to their goal of thwarting the impending takeover of the throne. There's also a very Inspector Clouseau, Detective Poirot-like character who has a very cinematic moment at the big climax. Personally, I think the story would have benefitted had he had a bigger, more commanding role and had perhaps been the main narrator rather relegated as a side character. There are a lot shifting POVs which make it hard to keep track of some details. I had the urge to make a crude map and character list for myself but then decided to just flow with my ambiguity. I am, afterall, behind on my goodreads reading challenge and the clock is ticking! However, this could be troublesome for some younger readers. Alas, if I hadn't hurriedly dove into chapter one I might not have missed a) the map; b) the explanations for each of the quadrants; and c) the Queenly Rules in their entirety. Oops.
I would give it a solid 4 stars if it weren't for the infernal need to throw in romance. Admittedly, romance rarely enamors me. I am not a teenaged girl, so perhaps the editors and marketing specialists know their target audience best but I would have been deeply satisfied with the novelty of a true friendship between Keralie and Varin. This could very well be the beginning of a series but it wraps up nicely with no cliffhanger ending. Really my only criticism is the resolution happens a bit too quickly and tidily.
Four Dead Queens...breaks no new ground but is a fun read. Be patient! It starts off slowly before gathering steam. Keralie, 17, is determined to live a life of her own choosing not of her family's. She's drawn into the seamy underworld with a childhood friend, Mackiel, and becomes a consummate thief and pickpocket. Very Dickensian. Only Mackiel, the Fagin-like character, is the orphan, not Keralie. Keralie is drawn into a dangerous cat and mouse game between Mackiel and an unknown adversary who have plans to devastate the monarchy and install their own Queen. Keralie is the unwitting pawn. Like I said, not new territory. Keralie and Varin become reluctant partners as they flee for their lives from Mackiel and his henchmen. Both are full of regrets and unfulfilled desires and it's this commonality that tethers them to their goal of thwarting the impending takeover of the throne. There's also a very Inspector Clouseau, Detective Poirot-like character who has a very cinematic moment at the big climax. Personally, I think the story would have benefitted had he had a bigger, more commanding role and had perhaps been the main narrator rather relegated as a side character. There are a lot shifting POVs which make it hard to keep track of some details. I had the urge to make a crude map and character list for myself but then decided to just flow with my ambiguity. I am, afterall, behind on my goodreads reading challenge and the clock is ticking! However, this could be troublesome for some younger readers. Alas, if I hadn't hurriedly dove into chapter one I might not have missed a) the map; b) the explanations for each of the quadrants; and c) the Queenly Rules in their entirety. Oops.
I would give it a solid 4 stars if it weren't for the infernal need to throw in romance. Admittedly, romance rarely enamors me. I am not a teenaged girl, so perhaps the editors and marketing specialists know their target audience best but I would have been deeply satisfied with the novelty of a true friendship between Keralie and Varin. This could very well be the beginning of a series but it wraps up nicely with no cliffhanger ending. Really my only criticism is the resolution happens a bit too quickly and tidily.
Four Dead Queens is a fast paced mystery that had me glued to the pages. The action starts on the first page and doesn’t let up.
Keralie and Varin are so different. She’s a highly skilled thief and a liar while he’s honest and innocent with a bit of a sneaky side. Together they find themselves wrapped up in a mystery and conspiracy that leaves all four queens dead and no one knowing why. They try to solve the mystery while surviving themselves.
I absolutely loved the world building. It’s such a unique place and the detail was fantastic. Each place was unique with its own characteristics.
I am really looking forward to more in this series. I can’t wait to see where the story goes.
Keralie and Varin are so different. She’s a highly skilled thief and a liar while he’s honest and innocent with a bit of a sneaky side. Together they find themselves wrapped up in a mystery and conspiracy that leaves all four queens dead and no one knowing why. They try to solve the mystery while surviving themselves.
I absolutely loved the world building. It’s such a unique place and the detail was fantastic. Each place was unique with its own characteristics.
I am really looking forward to more in this series. I can’t wait to see where the story goes.
The nation building is so illogical. Babies are separated from their mother to be raised by foster families only to be completely isolated from those families when they have to take the throne after the mother they never met dies. The characters are shocked that everyone has secrets. And walls separating the four types of people so the citizens can never be anything but what culture they are born into. It's a terrible premise. And the main character is full of self-loathing.
I have decided to give this a 2.5-3 / 5 stars. I felt like the plot didn’t fully connect. It was very scrambled and all over the place, which was disappointing bc it promised to be a much more interesting read than it ended up being. The pacing was strange in the fact that it bounced between going way too fast and needing to gain momentum. Personally, I felt that the chapters were too short and lacked substance, as many could have been combined into one chapter to more effectively tell the story. At times, it felt more like reading the mid-edit rough draft than a fully complete and fleshed out story. I was never given enough information about any of the characters to develop a connection or a definitive opinion on them, although Keralie’s character was lovely and complex; they didn’t focus enough on corrupt power structures or give us enough information on WHY things needed to change and WHY [redacted] was an awful choice for Queen. There was too much WHO and WHAT, but never enough WHY. My overall feelings are just....meh.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Hard to get into at first but once past chapter 3 or 4 you cant put the book down
EASILY ONE OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE BOOKS. World building was the definition of perfection. Strong, capable, smart MC with a hot sidekick? Absolutely. Great betrayals, phenomenal timeline and ordering of the actual writing. Unnecessary but very appreciated main love story with AMAZING side love stories.
The villain was certainly a shock, but the murderer was even more surprising. . .
The villain was certainly a shock, but the murderer was even more surprising. . .
3.5 🌟 Stars!!
“Sometimes failure is the beginning of success”
Keralie Corrington is a pickpocket who lives by the words "Get in quick, get out quicker." She works under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get in their own quarter. For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from each region:
Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community
When Keralie steals a comm disk coming from Varin Bollt, then everything goes wrong. When she watches the comms - Keralie sees the murders of all four queens. Hoping that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit – Keralie ends up teaming up with Varin, to complete his original job and see where it takes them.
I enjoyed this read. At first it was a lot of information and I felt a little overwhelmed- but after about the 20 percent mark, things started to pick up and it was action packed until the end. There was a little world building in the beginning but not really a whole lot. The plot was not at all what I was expecting.
Four Dead Queens is very unique - and is not like anything I have ever read when dealing with Kingdoms. There is a lot of use of tech and it had a bit of a Sci-Fi feel, which was what made it seem different. The characters were well rounded, but I just could not really connect to any of them. There is a M/F and F/F romance as well and sadly I could not get a grasp on either one. Something was missing... I thought the story line was good and the twists and turns were fun to read. I do recommend it for its uniqueness-and do believe its worth reading, just nothing really over the top and it was just an ok read for me.
“Sometimes failure is the beginning of success”
Keralie Corrington is a pickpocket who lives by the words "Get in quick, get out quicker." She works under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get in their own quarter. For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from each region:
Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community
When Keralie steals a comm disk coming from Varin Bollt, then everything goes wrong. When she watches the comms - Keralie sees the murders of all four queens. Hoping that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit – Keralie ends up teaming up with Varin, to complete his original job and see where it takes them.
I enjoyed this read. At first it was a lot of information and I felt a little overwhelmed- but after about the 20 percent mark, things started to pick up and it was action packed until the end. There was a little world building in the beginning but not really a whole lot. The plot was not at all what I was expecting.
Four Dead Queens is very unique - and is not like anything I have ever read when dealing with Kingdoms. There is a lot of use of tech and it had a bit of a Sci-Fi feel, which was what made it seem different. The characters were well rounded, but I just could not really connect to any of them. There is a M/F and F/F romance as well and sadly I could not get a grasp on either one. Something was missing... I thought the story line was good and the twists and turns were fun to read. I do recommend it for its uniqueness-and do believe its worth reading, just nothing really over the top and it was just an ok read for me.