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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The title of this book is very similar to the THREE DARK CROWNS series by Kendare Blake (which I greatly enjoy), but this has absolutely nothing to do with it. It just struck me as similar so I ended up picking it up to read from the library.
The book is categorized into the fantasy genre at the library, in the YA section. I would agree it's YA, but I personally think it's less fantasy, and more science fiction. I was actually really confused at first because I thought it was "regular" fantasy, possibly steampunk-ish without the steam... the beginning of the book opens up with an old school fantasy type map of the world, which I think is what started this expectation; but as I read, I realized it's more sci-fi. Actually I'm still a bit puzzled because other parts of the book seem almost medieval, and then some hi-tech piece of technology will be thrown in. Jarring is a better word for how I felt. I never could quite grasp the setting.
FOUR DEAD QUEENS takes place in the fictional nation of Quadara. It is one nation, divided into four regions and each region is ruled by a queen. Each region is also specialized in something or another, and the people of that region have come to reflect their specialization. The Archia region focuses on farming and manual labour (like, to the point that their queen bans technoology on the island); Toria focuses on trade and seafaring so their people are naturally very curious people; Eonia focuses on science and technology, and their people have learned to suppress their emotions like robots; and Ludia focuses on the arts, fashion and leisure so their people are energetic and "spoiled".
Really neat idea of a nation divided into 4, each having its own ruler. Only problem was Quadara is supposed to be one nation but it felt like four different ones. It didn't seem like there was ANYTHING uniting the four regions. The queens even go out of their way to block their people from traveling to different regions. The beginning of the book starts with an Archian begging his queen to allow electricity in their region and she's like lol nope, go farm the old fashioned way, peasant. The main character also notes lots of "racism" or whatever you call it between regions, looking down on anyone who is from Ludia or thinking Eonists are all a bunch of heartless robots. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to be worried for the nation or just the main character's region of Toria.
That's the other thing, some regions felt positively medieval. Then you have others where they've basically got freaking Bluetooth and fast trains and holograms, and you're like "oh man, these people are still on horse-and-buggy tech, poor guys". I mean, their queen is literally making their lives harder instead of better!!
Anyway, the story follows Keralie, a young thief (called 'dippers'). She works for Mackiel, and basically steals stuff to re-sell at Mackiel's auction house. One day, she steals a comm case from an Eonist messenger named Varin. The comm case contains very secretive information about the four queens -- each one is about to be assassinated. After realizing what the comm case contains, Keralie and Varin try to solve the mystery of who the case is supposed to be delivered to, from whom, and how can they save the queens. Interspersed between Keralie's POV chapters are the four queens'.
Overall I liked this book enough to read every page, but I don't think I would ever re-read it or follow it if it became a series. It's imaginative and I think the author put a lot of effort into the writing and the plot. I just don't think the world and the plot was for me. The story was predictable. The "mystery" wasn't actually solved by the characters despite them trying to play detective; rather the mastermind was revealed by a sudden POV chapter from the mastermind who explains all her plans. I wasn't really a fan of the characters either. The villains were cartoonish, Keralie is an arrogant girl who is flirtatious at really weird and inappropriate times (in my opinion -- running away from people literally trying to kill you is a strange time to flirt. Like, she and Varin were at risk for drowning and she suddenly wonders if Varin might undress her and see her naked or something, I don't know, it was weird), and Varin has the personality of a potato.
I wanted to find out what happened at the end though, so I guess I liked it enough for that!
Edit: I realized I did not mention anything about the romance between Keralie and Varin. Honestly, I kind of forgot about it. I guess that says enough about their relationship.
The book is categorized into the fantasy genre at the library, in the YA section. I would agree it's YA, but I personally think it's less fantasy, and more science fiction. I was actually really confused at first because I thought it was "regular" fantasy, possibly steampunk-ish without the steam... the beginning of the book opens up with an old school fantasy type map of the world, which I think is what started this expectation; but as I read, I realized it's more sci-fi. Actually I'm still a bit puzzled because other parts of the book seem almost medieval, and then some hi-tech piece of technology will be thrown in. Jarring is a better word for how I felt. I never could quite grasp the setting.
FOUR DEAD QUEENS takes place in the fictional nation of Quadara. It is one nation, divided into four regions and each region is ruled by a queen. Each region is also specialized in something or another, and the people of that region have come to reflect their specialization. The Archia region focuses on farming and manual labour (like, to the point that their queen bans technoology on the island); Toria focuses on trade and seafaring so their people are naturally very curious people; Eonia focuses on science and technology, and their people have learned to suppress their emotions like robots; and Ludia focuses on the arts, fashion and leisure so their people are energetic and "spoiled".
Really neat idea of a nation divided into 4, each having its own ruler. Only problem was Quadara is supposed to be one nation but it felt like four different ones. It didn't seem like there was ANYTHING uniting the four regions. The queens even go out of their way to block their people from traveling to different regions. The beginning of the book starts with an Archian begging his queen to allow electricity in their region and she's like lol nope, go farm the old fashioned way, peasant. The main character also notes lots of "racism" or whatever you call it between regions, looking down on anyone who is from Ludia or thinking Eonists are all a bunch of heartless robots. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to be worried for the nation or just the main character's region of Toria.
That's the other thing, some regions felt positively medieval. Then you have others where they've basically got freaking Bluetooth and fast trains and holograms, and you're like "oh man, these people are still on horse-and-buggy tech, poor guys". I mean, their queen is literally making their lives harder instead of better!!
Anyway, the story follows Keralie, a young thief (called 'dippers'). She works for Mackiel, and basically steals stuff to re-sell at Mackiel's auction house. One day, she steals a comm case from an Eonist messenger named Varin. The comm case contains very secretive information about the four queens -- each one is about to be assassinated. After realizing what the comm case contains, Keralie and Varin try to solve the mystery of who the case is supposed to be delivered to, from whom, and how can they save the queens. Interspersed between Keralie's POV chapters are the four queens'.
Overall I liked this book enough to read every page, but I don't think I would ever re-read it or follow it if it became a series. It's imaginative and I think the author put a lot of effort into the writing and the plot. I just don't think the world and the plot was for me. The story was predictable. The "mystery" wasn't actually solved by the characters despite them trying to play detective; rather the mastermind was revealed by a sudden POV chapter from the mastermind who explains all her plans. I wasn't really a fan of the characters either. The villains were cartoonish, Keralie is an arrogant girl who is flirtatious at really weird and inappropriate times (in my opinion -- running away from people literally trying to kill you is a strange time to flirt. Like, she and Varin were at risk for drowning and she suddenly wonders if Varin might undress her and see her naked or something, I don't know, it was weird), and Varin has the personality of a potato.
I wanted to find out what happened at the end though, so I guess I liked it enough for that!
Edit: I realized I did not mention anything about the romance between Keralie and Varin. Honestly, I kind of forgot about it. I guess that says enough about their relationship.
Wou, la verdad ya no creí leer este libro...
Empece a leer este libro hace como un mes pero lo deje, no por que no me estuviese gustando, si no por falta de tiempo.
Y yo por lo general cuando dejo un libro, ya no lo leo después...
Pero este me lo propuse leer antes de que acabe el año y, sorprendente mente, LO LOGRE
Ya hablando del libro.
Me gusto MUCHO.
La prota me callo muy bien todo el tiempo. Me gusta este tipo de protagonistas que son fuertes desde el principio y que medida que avanza el libro se vuelven aun mas poderosas.
Varin... Que puedo decir de este wey?
El es un ser que tiene que ser protegido Todo el libro quería meterlo en una cajita y decirle "Tranquilo, todo va a estar bien"
Empece a leer este libro hace como un mes pero lo deje, no por que no me estuviese gustando, si no por falta de tiempo.
Y yo por lo general cuando dejo un libro, ya no lo leo después...
Pero este me lo propuse leer antes de que acabe el año y, sorprendente mente, LO LOGRE
Ya hablando del libro.
Me gusto MUCHO.
La prota me callo muy bien todo el tiempo. Me gusta este tipo de protagonistas que son fuertes desde el principio y que medida que avanza el libro se vuelven aun mas poderosas.
Varin... Que puedo decir de este wey?
El es un ser que tiene que ser protegido Todo el libro quería meterlo en una cajita y decirle "Tranquilo, todo va a estar bien"
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m pleasantly surprised I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, it’s strange I only realised this isn’t even a fantasy book no magic was involved and it’s was refreshing to see simply a murder mystery book surrounding court life. I liked the character of Keralie very headstrong girl, and Varin was okay although he seems like the guys that I read about all the time, maybe if the author gave him a bit more of angst and a personality I would love him. Plot itself was super interesting that’s why I picked it up in the first place, I love me a story surrounding royals and court life so I adored the setting and the world building was interesting with the different quandrants. The plot was always moving and I noticed I was never really bored and the characters were never really stuck in the same position for a long period of time.
In terms of the plot twists I found them a little lackluster, another character enters the story later on in the book but I don’t find her particularly interesting just kind of meh and it seemed as if they were created just to fulfil the role, some things that characters did towards the end didn’t really make any sense and proper explanations were not given by them idk it seemed like the author kind of rushed the last few chapters.
But overall I enjoyed the plot and the story itself, I do recommend it if your a plot person.
In terms of the plot twists I found them a little lackluster, another character enters the story later on in the book but I don’t find her particularly interesting just kind of meh and it seemed as if they were created just to fulfil the role, some things that characters did towards the end didn’t really make any sense and proper explanations were not given by them idk it seemed like the author kind of rushed the last few chapters.
But overall I enjoyed the plot and the story itself, I do recommend it if your a plot person.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Vou começar dizendo que não sei explicar, mas a história me pareceu bastante densa em alguns momentos, mesmo a narrativa fluindo bem. O que me afastou da historia em vários momentos... mas eu gostei bastante da trama que a autora criou e acho que mesmo sendo volume único ela conseguiu fechar todos os pontos principais. Estou curiosa para ler mais fantasias dela.
WOW. What a book. What a mystery! A totally thrilling and imaginative read.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
Pretty good read. Took me a bit to get going with the timeliness in the beginning. I was genuinely surprised by multiple things that happened though.
Unreal. Astrid made me cry. Twice! The story is amazing. The characters phenomenal. Full RTC