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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
I've waited for so long to read this book and honestly, I kind of wish I never had. The hype has been insane since release and everyone said it was ground breaking. The first 50 odd pages were great and then it was just meh. I'm sure it hits with a certain audience but for me, I kind of want to forget it exists to the point that it's in the donation box to be forever excluded from my house
Four Dead Queens is one of the most refreshing YA fantasy novels that I have read in a long time. It takes a few of the more common cliches (young thief who steals something of incredible value, a kingdom that is separated by walls/lifestyle/what they provide society, royalty, a hidden royal child) and twists them in a new and exciting way that I haven't seen before. The story jumps back and forth in time to before and after the queens are murdered one at a time, and by different means. I enjoyed the setting, Quadara, and would honestly liked to have seen more of the quadrants where we only got a sneak peak. The farmland and the entertainment quarters were barely hinted at, and although I am satisfied with this standalone story and happy it's not being dragged out into a trilogy (like everything is nowadays) I really would have liked to see more of those quadrants. So many YA authors are afraid to make hard choices- killing off characters and keeping them dead for instance- that it's nice to see commitment and follow-through. Keralee, our protagonist, may be a thief with a good heart, but she's far from falling into the dreaded "not like other girls" trope. There's also a bit of insta-love here, but Varin is so adorable that it's easy to let it go. The story sucked me in from page one, and I was riveted until the very end, guessing who the assassin was until the reveal. The villain is truly evil, with no redeemable qualities. I would have liked a little more from them in terms of character development, but I am satisfied with the way the story played out and ended. The one gripe I have here is solely with the audiobook- the narrator sounded like she was loudly whispering the whole time, which detracted from the experience as a whole- but not enough to bump the rating down. I really enjoyed myself, and would consider rereading it in the future. It's a fun fantasy mystery, and I'd highly recommend it!
Very interesting concept, never read anything like it before
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte was a bit of a confusing read. I found the mix between the somewhat Victorian? time period and the modern/magical technology to be hard to digest. It almost seemed steampunk like, but not? Also, the 4 quadrants reminded me of Divergent. That being said, the premise was super interesting. The alternating viewpoints between Kera and the Queens kept me devouring the pages to find out what happened next. Not a bad book for being a debut, but also not a great one. I think it needed more continuity.
I would've really enjoyed this with just the palace intrigue, 4 Dead Queens, and Kera, minus all the sci-fi add ins.
Spoiler
I also found the HIDRA thing, the body suit things (living organisms???) and the "technology" on the comm chips to all be quite far fetched and just odd and out of placeI would've really enjoyed this with just the palace intrigue, 4 Dead Queens, and Kera, minus all the sci-fi add ins.
i'll be honest. i saw this novel and on instinct i took it because (1) i thought it was the 'three dark crowns' series which i've been meaning to read. i mean, the covers are so similar?? or was that just me
and then when i arrived home, i checked my goodreads and went hold up, this ain't it , but i wasn't going to be dramatic (ooo shocking) and return it because i had simply mixed it up with another novel. noooo, i read it, and do i regret it? hell no.
four dead queens is an exhilarating murder mystery novel with a hint of romance as a subplot, and although it wasn't totally necessary, i guess it was cute. ok it was very cute. the hopeless romantic in me knew it was unnecessary and uncalled for but i loved it so, not complaining .
the characters!!!
keralie 'kera' corrington is our sarcastic, reckless-spirited protagonist. a thief at heart, but a softie within. as always common in novels, the protagonist holds a deep dark regretful secret that is slowly unravelled through flashbacks or thoughts, causing the readers to read past it and wonder what it was they could have possibly done. but with this secret of hers, i was not surprised, but nor was i disappointed. this book could've disappointed me so easily, but it did not. her character was not annoying, and she seemed very much vulnerable and real to emotions. her thoughts about varin were indeed amusing as she tried to push away her feelings, but she couldn't help herself. i mean, who can blame her? varin is beautiful
varin bolt is our stoic, quiet and mysterious deuteragonist. he is a simple fellow, with wonderful descriptions that made my heart go all fluttery inside. he was simply a messenger, delivering comms one place to another, but was caught up in a whirlwind of a dangerous adventure with a talented thief who he ended up falling in love with (inevitably). in the beginning, he was shown as a somewhat emotionless character, with no personality, no motive except to do his job. he's a very loyal character, but i loved the way he was revealed to love art, and. his character was interesting to unravel, and it was evident that he was becoming himself, accepting who he was, even if it were a slow process.
mackiel (i forgot his last name) was definitely an intriguing character. his motives, his personality, it lowkey reminded me of a younger version of jan van eck from six of crows (with the manipulative and such). mackiel's "kera, darlin'" is definitely iconic.. i don't really know what else to say besides him being a wonderfully written character, and how he always burnt beneath kera's eyelids, haunting her whenever she closed her eyes.
4 stars !!!
four stars overall. it was a fantastic read, exhilarating. i was practically at the edge of my seat when reading the last 50 pages since everything was just unravelling and becoming so so interesting. if you love plot twists that will literally make you shit your pants, you'll love this. if you love wonderful worldbuilding and charismatic characters, you'll love this !!
what held me back from giving it 5 stars is that it's not a novel i would read again. it was good, yes, but not something i would probably remember. the beginning was really slow, and it seemed to drag on. these aspects made me lower it to 4 stars. but it was a fantastic, underrated read, so i do recommend if you want a simple, intriguing novel to indulge in!
[ review written: 1st november 2020 ]
————
changed to 3 stars ! i had a sudden change of mind for some reason and reading through my review i realised i absolutely forgot what this book was about. it wasn't very memorable but it was nice while it lasted.
[ review updated: 9th april 2021 ]
and then when i arrived home, i checked my goodreads and went hold up, this ain't it , but i wasn't going to be dramatic (ooo shocking) and return it because i had simply mixed it up with another novel. noooo, i read it, and do i regret it? hell no.
four dead queens is an exhilarating murder mystery novel with a hint of romance as a subplot, and although it wasn't totally necessary, i guess it was cute.
the characters!!!
keralie 'kera' corrington is our sarcastic, reckless-spirited protagonist. a thief at heart, but a softie within. as always common in novels, the protagonist holds a deep dark regretful secret that is slowly unravelled through flashbacks or thoughts, causing the readers to read past it and wonder what it was they could have possibly done. but with this secret of hers, i was not surprised, but nor was i disappointed. this book could've disappointed me so easily, but it did not. her character was not annoying, and she seemed very much vulnerable and real to emotions. her thoughts about varin were indeed amusing as she tried to push away her feelings, but she couldn't help herself.
varin bolt is our stoic, quiet and mysterious deuteragonist. he is a simple fellow, with wonderful descriptions that made my heart go all fluttery inside. he was simply a messenger, delivering comms one place to another, but was caught up in a whirlwind of a dangerous adventure with a talented thief who he ended up falling in love with (inevitably). in the beginning, he was shown as a somewhat emotionless character, with no personality, no motive except to do his job. he's a very loyal character, but i loved the way he was revealed to love art, and
Spoiler
how he would indulge himself in other people's memories before he became permanently blind *cue crying*mackiel (i forgot his last name) was definitely an intriguing character. his motives, his personality, it lowkey reminded me of a younger version of jan van eck from six of crows (with the manipulative and such). mackiel's "kera, darlin'" is definitely iconic.
Spoiler
his romance with arabella was quite spontaneous but the build up of it made sense4 stars !!!
four stars overall. it was a fantastic read, exhilarating. i was practically at the edge of my seat when reading the last 50 pages since everything was just unravelling and becoming so so interesting.
Spoiler
that plot twist with kera being the assassin because the comms she took were a different sort of comms as they control her actions to mirror what was shown in the comms!!what held me back from giving it 5 stars is that it's not a novel i would read again. it was good, yes, but not something i would probably remember. the beginning was really slow, and it seemed to drag on. these aspects made me lower it to 4 stars. but it was a fantastic, underrated read, so i do recommend if you want a simple, intriguing novel to indulge in!
[ review written: 1st november 2020 ]
————
changed to 3 stars ! i had a sudden change of mind for some reason and reading through my review i realised i absolutely forgot what this book was about. it wasn't very memorable but it was nice while it lasted.
[ review updated: 9th april 2021 ]
What an impressive debut!
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reading copy and upon seeing the cover and synopsis was instantly excited; devouring this wonderous story as fast as my eyes could take me.
My imagination worked overtime attempting to create accurate images in my mind of the vastly different quadrants, all the while failing to truly grasp how these sectors are so geographically close together yet feel like they are from completely different worlds. I was taken from period costume with corsets and bonnets and a quadrant with no electricity to dermasuits and comm chips and technology so advanced it blew my mind! I was introduced to characters I immediately wanted to know more about and as the story progressed, was constantly surprised to discover new things about them I wouldn't have guessed.
This was a pretty cruisey novel to begin with, an easy read that wrapped me up in the stunningly creative world Astrid has created until just past half way when the rugs started ripping out from under me with twists I never saw coming- much praise for an author who can still do that so successfully!
I truly loved this book, a standing ovation from me as I (not so) patiently wait for Astrid's next masterpiece (please!) :)
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reading copy and upon seeing the cover and synopsis was instantly excited; devouring this wonderous story as fast as my eyes could take me.
My imagination worked overtime attempting to create accurate images in my mind of the vastly different quadrants, all the while failing to truly grasp how these sectors are so geographically close together yet feel like they are from completely different worlds. I was taken from period costume with corsets and bonnets and a quadrant with no electricity to dermasuits and comm chips and technology so advanced it blew my mind! I was introduced to characters I immediately wanted to know more about and as the story progressed, was constantly surprised to discover new things about them I wouldn't have guessed.
This was a pretty cruisey novel to begin with, an easy read that wrapped me up in the stunningly creative world Astrid has created until just past half way when the rugs started ripping out from under me with twists I never saw coming- much praise for an author who can still do that so successfully!
I truly loved this book, a standing ovation from me as I (not so) patiently wait for Astrid's next masterpiece (please!) :)
I enjoyed this book from the beginning, but those last 40ish pages really sucked me in and I had to stay up WAY past my bedtime to finish the book because I just couldn’t sleep without knowing how it would all play out!