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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
The lead soldier is the clearest to make out; his long legs taper from narrow hips and a boxy, solid chest. He is the first man I have seen in person. My eyes widen to take him in. He is more fascinating than the chapel murals of the sky-god, Anu, and his son, Enlil, the fire-god.
^This is on the third page; the first time the MC meets the guy who - surprise! - will become the love interest.
Every now and then, I like to take a break from my TBR. I'll either pick up a classic I've always been meaning to read, or I'll check out what's hot right now among my GR friends. So when I kept seeing [b:The Hundredth Queen|30811001|The Hundredth Queen (The Hundredth Queen, #1)|Emily R. King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484285199s/30811001.jpg|51398523] in my feed and I was in the mood for some light fantasy, I decided to give it a shot. But I fail to understand the popularity of such a cliche, derivative fantasy novel.
Maybe there was a time, however many years ago, when it was somewhat interesting to write a fantasy with little world-building, a plain, boring protagonist who everyone else thinks is special, instalove, beautiful mean girls, and a central conflict that doesn't really make sense... maybe there was that time, but I really thought it was long gone.
In this book, a plain and unremarkable orphan called Kalinda has grown up in the Sisterhood - a religious group that grooms girls to be servants, courtesans, or, if they're lucky, wives to powerful men. We are repeatedly told how unattractive and bad at fighting Kalinda is, but in the first few chapters alone, we see her defeat a strong opponent and be called "beautiful" by several others.
The evil and vindictive girls are, of course, stunning (and aware of it) in comparison to Kalinda who says she's plain but is somehow believed to be special by everyone else:
“Natesa and Sarita flaunt their bodies, unrushed to get dressed. They are replicas of the goddess Ki, petite and round, soft yet firm, fit yet feminine. So unlike my gangly, angled shape.”
The whole plot of the book is about women competing against one another for men's affections, among other things. When Kalinda is chosen to be Rajah Tarek's 100th wife, she soon realises that she must compete with the other wives in a rank tournament. This is a series of fights where wives can challenge one another for their rank and, hopefully, gain more power.
I found this part really poorly-explained. The reasoning behind it seemed weak, and the wives didn't seem to have much to gain from competing in potentially fatal battles. It was just another thing in this book that made it seem like it needed some tighter editing. Everything from reasons that don't quite add up, to weird sentences that shouldn't have made it to print:
Jaya frowns so hard that a crane could roost on her lower lip.
Add to this a romance set up with instalove, and it just wasn't an impressive read. There was absolutely no chemistry between Kalinda and Deven because there was no gradual build to their relationship - no banter, no tension, nothing to keep me excited. They are obsessed with one another from the very beginning. And while you could maybe explain away Kalinda's obsession with the fact that she's grown up in the Sisterhood and never seen men before - what's his excuse?
Maybe I'll just stick to my regular TBR for a while.
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This book is going to be in my top 10 of this year. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't stop reading once i started. Kalinda is the main character who is picked to be Rajahs Final wife. Number 100. However before she gets there she must take part in a tournament to win her right to be his wife. She took every plot twist in her stride and showed true feminism and badass. I really didn't like Rajah. He really didn't care for any of his wifes and enjoyed pitching them against each other which i thought was sick. However Deven was just a sweet heart. With every page he was on i felt myself falling in love with him more and more. Hes so sweet and we could really see from page 1 that hes in that he would be the one that Kalinda could confide in and be a friend. I loved how Emily portrayed strong female friendships and how friendships can build between characters.
This book was full of magic, suspense, fantasy, action, betrayal, and swoon-worthy romance.
I gave this book 5 stars. I need to read the second book soon!!
This book was full of magic, suspense, fantasy, action, betrayal, and swoon-worthy romance.
I gave this book 5 stars. I need to read the second book soon!!
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn't really re-read the synopsis when I finally picked this book up (got it from Prime Reading well over a year ago) and once I started I realized there was going to be a heavy competition/trials/battle situation and I don't really care for that... on top of sensing some instalove coming ond seeing the "special hidden abilities" trope coming from a mile away... just decided it wasn't going to be for me.
I was enjoying the world-building and character development, though!
I was enjoying the world-building and character development, though!
In all honesty I don’t understand why so many people had poor reviews for this book! Yes the insta-love was lame, and Kalinda was sort of stupid at times but I was pleasantly surprised, I will surely read the next installment! The story was good, the writing was good, I liked it.
forgot i’d read this.
haven’t forgotten how bad it was lol.
haven’t forgotten how bad it was lol.
"Anything can be changed by those who have the courage to blaze their own path."
I bought this one on sale after reading the synopsis and zero expectations. Overall, I was impressed, especially since this appears to be the author's first YA book. It's not like Girl of Fire and Thorns plot wise, but it gave me the exact same vibes. For fantasy, it's an easy read, and the focus is centered more on gods/demons than world building. I always enjoy a book with a strong heroine and think the next installment will be even better.
"We are all half-demon, half-god."
I bought this one on sale after reading the synopsis and zero expectations. Overall, I was impressed, especially since this appears to be the author's first YA book. It's not like Girl of Fire and Thorns plot wise, but it gave me the exact same vibes. For fantasy, it's an easy read, and the focus is centered more on gods/demons than world building. I always enjoy a book with a strong heroine and think the next installment will be even better.
"We are all half-demon, half-god."
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
I loooove this series! I can’t wait for the last book!!