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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
3.5 STARS
I genuinely wanted to give Four Dead Queens 5 stars...
The premise of this story was so intriguing and fun. A Fantasy with a murder mystery plot? I was so excited! And for the most part I really enjoyed this read, however I feel that it just could have and should have been... more.
This is the story of the Four Queens of Quadara. Each Queen rules a different quadrant of the land. Iris of Archia, Corra of Eonia, Stessa of Ludia, and Marguerite of Toria. As the title so aptly puts it, each Queen starts being murdered one by one. Because of this, an investigator is called in to find the killer. Alongside this narrative, we are also meeting Keralee, a thief from Toria who steals comm chips off of an Eonian messenger named Varin. Whilst trying to avoid giving the chips back to Varin, Keralee eats said "comm chips" and sees the visions of each of the Queens' murders. After seeing what she has seen, Keralee, along with Varin go on a quest to the Palace to reveal the information of what she has seen.
I really liked the world that Astrid Scholte created. I found it very intriguing and I really enjoyed reading the POV's of the Four Queens. I loved seeing how different the quadrants were and how it made each of the Queens unique . I wanted to learn more about each quadrant and the differences of each one, and that part was frustrating [this is a recurring theme for me throughout the book]. I just wanted more information.
This book is told from 5 or 6 different POV's which I really enjoyed, until the author switched between 1st and 3rd person. All the perspectives are told from 3rd person except for Keralee (our MC) who's chapters are told in 1st person narrative. This frustrated me quite a lot, it ended up making the book as a whole feel very inconsistent.
I also feel that this was WAY too big of a story to tell in a standalone novel. With so much going on in a short amount of time, the story felt rushed with not enough detail. We are introduced to each character in their own chapters, but there just wasn't enough character development for me. I felt that without solid time devoted to each MC, it was super hard to build those characters and understand them. Weak politics, murders and a murder investigation, some vague non-detailed almost sci-fi concepts [genetic modifications and comm chips], were all thrown in with 5 different perspectives and a weak romance and it all adds up to a bunch of things that were underdeveloped.
The romance was just kind of okay for me. It felt like it was thrown in kind of unnecessarily and it just wasn't my favorite. Again, very underdeveloped, and could have done so much more with it if the novel wasn't a standalone. It just didn't give me the feels, you know?
I also loved that the story was built as a mystery. You’re following the main character as she’s learning the events and slowly unravelling the mystery. You as a reader are also dying to figure it out as well. I honestly did not guess the ending, even as much as I speculated, I did not see it coming. I am not a huge mystery buff, but I do enjoy an occasional murder mystery novel and I loved that it mixed genres so nicely.
Now... the ending. This was the most disappointing part of the book to me. The way things were resolved, and the murderer being revealed felt way too convenient and tidy. This made it come off as a cop-out on the part of the author. It fell very flat and stale. Though I will say that I did NOT correctly guess who the murderer was, which made me very happy. If I would have been able to predict the outcome of the book, on top of everything else that I didn't like about it, it would have been rated much lower for me.
Overall I just really wanted more from the story! I really think this would have made a great duology or trilogy. More books would have allowed us as readers to explore and delve deeper into the characters and the world. I will say however that even with it's flaws, I did enjoy the book, and if you are a fan of YA Fantasy or Murder Mystery, I think you may enjoy it as well!
3.5 STARS
I genuinely wanted to give Four Dead Queens 5 stars...
The premise of this story was so intriguing and fun. A Fantasy with a murder mystery plot? I was so excited! And for the most part I really enjoyed this read, however I feel that it just could have and should have been... more.
This is the story of the Four Queens of Quadara. Each Queen rules a different quadrant of the land. Iris of Archia, Corra of Eonia, Stessa of Ludia, and Marguerite of Toria. As the title so aptly puts it, each Queen starts being murdered one by one. Because of this, an investigator is called in to find the killer. Alongside this narrative, we are also meeting Keralee, a thief from Toria who steals comm chips off of an Eonian messenger named Varin. Whilst trying to avoid giving the chips back to Varin, Keralee eats said "comm chips" and sees the visions of each of the Queens' murders. After seeing what she has seen, Keralee, along with Varin go on a quest to the Palace to reveal the information of what she has seen.
I really liked the world that Astrid Scholte created. I found it very intriguing and I really enjoyed reading the POV's of the Four Queens. I loved seeing how different the quadrants were and how it made each of the Queens unique . I wanted to learn more about each quadrant and the differences of each one, and that part was frustrating [this is a recurring theme for me throughout the book]. I just wanted more information.
This book is told from 5 or 6 different POV's which I really enjoyed, until the author switched between 1st and 3rd person. All the perspectives are told from 3rd person except for Keralee (our MC) who's chapters are told in 1st person narrative. This frustrated me quite a lot, it ended up making the book as a whole feel very inconsistent.
I also feel that this was WAY too big of a story to tell in a standalone novel. With so much going on in a short amount of time, the story felt rushed with not enough detail. We are introduced to each character in their own chapters, but there just wasn't enough character development for me. I felt that without solid time devoted to each MC, it was super hard to build those characters and understand them. Weak politics, murders and a murder investigation, some vague non-detailed almost sci-fi concepts [genetic modifications and comm chips], were all thrown in with 5 different perspectives and a weak romance and it all adds up to a bunch of things that were underdeveloped.
The romance was just kind of okay for me. It felt like it was thrown in kind of unnecessarily and it just wasn't my favorite. Again, very underdeveloped, and could have done so much more with it if the novel wasn't a standalone. It just didn't give me the feels, you know?
I also loved that the story was built as a mystery. You’re following the main character as she’s learning the events and slowly unravelling the mystery. You as a reader are also dying to figure it out as well. I honestly did not guess the ending, even as much as I speculated, I did not see it coming. I am not a huge mystery buff, but I do enjoy an occasional murder mystery novel and I loved that it mixed genres so nicely.
Now... the ending. This was the most disappointing part of the book to me. The way things were resolved, and the murderer being revealed felt way too convenient and tidy. This made it come off as a cop-out on the part of the author. It fell very flat and stale. Though I will say that I did NOT correctly guess who the murderer was, which made me very happy. If I would have been able to predict the outcome of the book, on top of everything else that I didn't like about it, it would have been rated much lower for me.
Overall I just really wanted more from the story! I really think this would have made a great duology or trilogy. More books would have allowed us as readers to explore and delve deeper into the characters and the world. I will say however that even with it's flaws, I did enjoy the book, and if you are a fan of YA Fantasy or Murder Mystery, I think you may enjoy it as well!
Such a fun read with some nice, unexpected twists! This is a book I would've loved a sequel for.
I was very intrigued by this story, but I was a bit bored by the resolution.
Twisty and turny murder mystery. I had a few theories about what really went down, but wow this book thwarted all of them.
One phrase to describe this book: "Well, I did not see that coming." Most YA books, you can sort of tell where the plot is going, but not this one. Each chapter reveals something new and completely changes how you think the story is going to go. I cannot describe more without giving away; definitely worth a read.
I was totes wrong about who the queens daughter was---- Opps! But it really does make sense that it wasn't who i thought it was because otherwise idk who would have been the assasin. i mean there was one person but i really don't think it would make sense with just that guy. Anyway, i generally liked this book. it def felt like a YA novel though. the "twist" at the end was kinda cool i didn't think of that but i also have an underdeveloped frontal lobe so idk if it was obvious or not.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Gore, Infertility, Xenophobia, Murder, War
✧˖° English °˖✧
This debut novel really surprised me. I was hooked from the first moment by the setting and the interesting characters. Another thing that I really like in novels, and that this one has is, is the different points of view, since it is possible to get to know the characters in a more personal way. I really liked the protagonist, a strong and determined girl, she reminded me a bit of Lilah Ballard from A Daker Shade of Magic. The outcome of the main mystery was a pleasant surprise, since I did not see it coming. The quadrants and their totally different way of life was an amazing thing to read. I can't wait to see what other worlds this author can create in the future.
✧˖° Español °˖✧
Esta novela debut en verdad me sorprendió. Me enganchó desde el primer momento la ambientación y los personajes tan interesantes. Otra cosa que me gusta mucho en las novelas, y que esta lo tiene, es los diferentes puntos de vista, ya que se logra conocer a los personajes de una manera mas personal. La protagonista me gustó mucho, una chica fuerte y decidida, me recordó un poco a Lilah Ballard de Una magia más oscura. El desenlace del misterio principal fue una grata sopresa, ya que no lo ví venir. Los cuadrantes y sus totalmente diferente forma de vida fue algo increíble de leer. Estoy ansiosa por ver que otros mundos puede crear esta autora en el futuro.
*Hugs book* WHAT A FANTASTIC ADVENTURE. This is the fastest I've read a book since Sorcery of Thorns, and all I have to say is "Now what am I going to do???"