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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me a copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the rich, brutal world that these characters are entrenched in. I'm used to fantasy where the magic is the dazzling part, but this story didn't even need in-your-face magic to grab your attention and give you a world that sparkles. The brutality of the trials and the way that Amie has been betrayed set up a whole world full of desperation where that one spark of hope could set the whole world aflame.
I loved Amie's character development and the ways that she changed throughout the story. She never backed down from staying true to herself while she still learned more about herself along the way. She went through so much that most could never imagine, and yet she was able to remain everything that she wanted to be at heart.
This is a story that will dazzle readers in so many ways, and you won't want to miss it!
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the rich, brutal world that these characters are entrenched in. I'm used to fantasy where the magic is the dazzling part, but this story didn't even need in-your-face magic to grab your attention and give you a world that sparkles. The brutality of the trials and the way that Amie has been betrayed set up a whole world full of desperation where that one spark of hope could set the whole world aflame.
I loved Amie's character development and the ways that she changed throughout the story. She never backed down from staying true to herself while she still learned more about herself along the way. She went through so much that most could never imagine, and yet she was able to remain everything that she wanted to be at heart.
This is a story that will dazzle readers in so many ways, and you won't want to miss it!
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
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
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have a hard time believing this is a debut book for the author- it's written like a best seller. The narrator is flaky and insecure but it fits with the plot. I was kept guessing, there was good transitions, an appropriate plot twist, and the story was original but still fit into the fantasy genre.
The only complaint I have (this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine) is that the author followed the recent trend of ending the book abruptl during an action scene to ensure we want the next book. This tends to feel a bit clunky to me and I'd prefer *some* resolution that keeps me wanting more but doesn't make me feel cheated.
All in all, well done Mina. You'll do well.
The only complaint I have (this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine) is that the author followed the recent trend of ending the book abruptl during an action scene to ensure we want the next book. This tends to feel a bit clunky to me and I'd prefer *some* resolution that keeps me wanting more but doesn't make me feel cheated.
All in all, well done Mina. You'll do well.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
There’s an awful lot I have to say about this book, im going to keep it as concise as humanly possible. I promise.
Well let me start with what I liked: the plot, especially at the beginning was really well thought out. I can tell the author has a lot of love and a lot of studying behind her about how to build a world and make it lush and expansive. I typically don’t like stories that lean heavily into “men are terrible to women” territory because it usually isn’t done well and the men are written as cartoonishly evil and not enough priority is leant to the ideology of female friendships being so strong in worlds like this. But, this author had a very strong inclination towards female friendships, and the cruelty of many of the men presented is actually depicted as quite realistic. The FMC, Amie, was very realistically written, being smart but also having her moments of immaturity.
What could’ve been done better: The plot progression starts very very slow but then ramps up after 100 pages or so. It then slows down again without picking up until the last 3 pages of the book. The plot of the book isn’t even technically resolved. Yeah they complete their main mission but like…another issue is presented during the course of their quest and it’s left unresolved. Same with the entire concept of the rebellion, which is happening in the background without progression or resolution. We are introduced to the concept of the “Scorpion Order” early on which is a group that has magic and so, logically, I believed that the title of the book “The Scorpion Queen” was referring to either the FMC getting involved with the order or someone else being involved with them or with magic. None of that happens. They’re just kind of…there. And show up a couple times. The one queen we do meet or have contact with has nothing to do with magic, the order, or even really scorpions at all. The character’s also seemed to be written rather flatly. A lot of character development is harried along by saying, more or less, “and then for the next few weeks we became friends”. I know this is probably a fault of this being a debut novel, but it is such a cop out to short cut character building and relationship building by saying “and then we became friends over a period of time!” The language and structure felt a little immature but I don’t know if that is because of the author or because this book is maybe a lower level YA book. The FMC is 16 so it could go either way.
As a total and complete side note I was 100% convinced at some point in this book it was going to become a sapphic novel. The way Amie talks about the princess, how beautiful she is, how her heart races when she’s around her, how she has an “unnamed feeling” she is “too afraid to examine” about her, how she can feel the heat of where their skin presses together, how the princess smells….all felt very sapphic to me. The princess even, at some point says she loves Amie only for the end of the book for them to shove them into the friendship box. SHE EVEN SAYS SHE MISSES THE PRINCESS MORE THAN THE DUDE SHE CLAIMS TO BE IN LOVE WITH AND WANTS TO SEE HER MORE WHEN ON HER QUEST!! Bruh. what a waste.
In all I see so much potential but alas, there are too many elements that fell flat to me.
1 stars DNF'd at C4/11%/ Tandem read with audio and the narrator was just okay but I think it had more to do with the story than her performance. I did get a physical arc from a giveaway but bought the audio with my own money.
About the story, this gave nothing. It was not only boring, but also completely uncompelling in every aspect. Nothing about it drew me in. I just simply don't care. I *want* to care, I *want* to be compelled to read further, the synopsis *is* intriguing, but from the get go it had an air of narration that felt like the MC was one degree removed from her own story which also made me feel even further removed. Combine that with a very bizarre, and I am sorry, but stupid trials somehow men are just falling all over themselves to complete (and failing apparently), I checked out early. I was hoping that if I kept going, that if I got over the first intro hump, that I would really like this but I just got even more bored with monologues of backstory that while some had relevance to what was happening, also droned on and on and on.
About the story, this gave nothing. It was not only boring, but also completely uncompelling in every aspect. Nothing about it drew me in. I just simply don't care. I *want* to care, I *want* to be compelled to read further, the synopsis *is* intriguing, but from the get go it had an air of narration that felt like the MC was one degree removed from her own story which also made me feel even further removed. Combine that with a very bizarre, and I am sorry, but stupid trials somehow men are just falling all over themselves to complete (and failing apparently), I checked out early. I was hoping that if I kept going, that if I got over the first intro hump, that I would really like this but I just got even more bored with monologues of backstory that while some had relevance to what was happening, also droned on and on and on.