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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Thank you, Min Fears and publisher for letting me read this book.
I enjoyed the story and the plot. It was very different from what I have read before, and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series. The pacing of the story was mostly steady, with only a few moments where it slowed down. I appreciated the flow of the book and the development of the characters.
If you like fantasy with a epic plot you should read this book. I will never like at a kettle the same again!
I enjoyed the story and the plot. It was very different from what I have read before, and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series. The pacing of the story was mostly steady, with only a few moments where it slowed down. I appreciated the flow of the book and the development of the characters.
If you like fantasy with a epic plot you should read this book. I will never like at a kettle the same again!
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Let me just get what didn't work for me out of the way. The pacing in The Scorpion Queen is incredibly slow. While the elements I was intrigued in were announced before this, I kept wondering when the hook, the premise of the plot, would roll into action. We see the cruelty, we see the ways in which the trials make the Princess feel like a monster. Yet at the same time, there isn't a lot of outlet for these feelings until around 30%. And after that I still had a bit of trouble with the pacing. The action, the hook, occurred, but then I still had some issues.
Let me just get what didn't work for me out of the way. The pacing in The Scorpion Queen is incredibly slow. While the elements I was intrigued in were announced before this, I kept wondering when the hook, the premise of the plot, would roll into action. We see the cruelty, we see the ways in which the trials make the Princess feel like a monster. Yet at the same time, there isn't a lot of outlet for these feelings until around 30%. And after that I still had a bit of trouble with the pacing. The action, the hook, occurred, but then I still had some issues.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Scorpion Queen was a Macmillan Audio pick and I was immediately drawn in. It takes place in historical Timbuktu of the Mali Empire, but the sorcery the emperor outlawed is not as extinct as everyone thought. Amie is cast down by the betrayal of her sister, but her new position as a maid to the princess sparks friendship between the two—a friendship that is maybe something more. But Amie is still determined to find a way to be with her former love. With the help of the princess, Amie and her two new friends, also maids to the princess, set off with a magical map and Kader, Amie’s love, to find a god’s treasure and all escape their lives of servitude.
This story actually reads like a fairytale in the way the plot moves and the trials the characters go through. Amie does her best to outwit a god at every turn. In the end, we’ll have to find out if she will end up on top in book two! I gave this book four stars, and I’ll impatiently wait for the conclusion!
I loved the narration by Sandra Okuboyejo, this is the second book I’ve heard her narrate!
The Scorpion Queen is the story of Amie, a teenager who has been disinherited by her family for something that she didn't even do. She was forced into servitude in the palace, and finds herself serving Princess Mariama. Amie is forced to choose between helping the princess or running away with the boy she is in love with.
I definitely expected this book to be a bit more action packed than it was. It started out pretty slowly, but picked up the pace partway through. I appreciated that there were several plot twists that I didn't see coming. While I enjoyed the story overall, there were definitely some pacing issues and I wish there was a bit more character development. I never felt a strong investment in any of the characters, or their relationships with one another. I'm definitely interested in seeing where the relationship between Amie and Mariama goes in the future, because it seems like there is a lot to explore there. The magic system was really interesting, and a deeper explanation of it would have fantastic.
I listened to the audio and enjoyed the narrator. Her voice fit the vibes of Amie's character really well. The narration was easy to understand even when sped up.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy!
I definitely expected this book to be a bit more action packed than it was. It started out pretty slowly, but picked up the pace partway through. I appreciated that there were several plot twists that I didn't see coming. While I enjoyed the story overall, there were definitely some pacing issues and I wish there was a bit more character development. I never felt a strong investment in any of the characters, or their relationships with one another. I'm definitely interested in seeing where the relationship between Amie and Mariama goes in the future, because it seems like there is a lot to explore there. The magic system was really interesting, and a deeper explanation of it would have fantastic.
I listened to the audio and enjoyed the narrator. Her voice fit the vibes of Amie's character really well. The narration was easy to understand even when sped up.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
really really interesting!!
mina fears' the scorpion queen is based on a Malian fairytale, and follows the disinherited daughter of a well-off merchant, Amie, as she is thrust into servitude to Princess Mariama of Mali. Mariama has watched 99 suitors be challenged to a series of fatal trials, and with the help of Amie and two of Mariama's maids, the four begin to develop a plan to ensure that no other suitor shall lose his life to the massive kettle in which the last 99 men have been boiled alive publically. Amie wishes for nothing more than to escape Timbuktu and run away with her love, Kader, and she quickly finds herself torn between her desire for a chance at freedom and a happy life with her lover, and her drive to end the bloodshed that haunts the princess' nightmares.
above all, I loved the nuance of this book. i find that dark fantasies can sometimes latch onto systems of black-and-white thinking and i really enjoyed the moral ambiguity both in the plot and the characters themselves. the cast of characters felt unique, and i became hooked very quickly, reading 65% of this in one sitting!
also was not expecting this to be queer!! loveddddd that! surprised storygraph doesn't have that listed as a genre tbh
really really cool read!
thank you so much to netgalley and to flatiron books for the advanced reader copy of the gorgeous new limited edition sprayed edge copy of this book!!
mina fears' the scorpion queen is based on a Malian fairytale, and follows the disinherited daughter of a well-off merchant, Amie, as she is thrust into servitude to Princess Mariama of Mali. Mariama has watched 99 suitors be challenged to a series of fatal trials, and with the help of Amie and two of Mariama's maids, the four begin to develop a plan to ensure that no other suitor shall lose his life to the massive kettle in which the last 99 men have been boiled alive publically. Amie wishes for nothing more than to escape Timbuktu and run away with her love, Kader, and she quickly finds herself torn between her desire for a chance at freedom and a happy life with her lover, and her drive to end the bloodshed that haunts the princess' nightmares.
above all, I loved the nuance of this book. i find that dark fantasies can sometimes latch onto systems of black-and-white thinking and i really enjoyed the moral ambiguity both in the plot and the characters themselves. the cast of characters felt unique, and i became hooked very quickly, reading 65% of this in one sitting!
really really cool read!
thank you so much to netgalley and to flatiron books for the advanced reader copy of the gorgeous new limited edition sprayed edge copy of this book!!
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
«𝑨 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏.
𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 — 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆.
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆.»
💭 Thoughts 💭
I liked the fairytale vibes this book had. The plot was creative which kept me curious, even though I didn’t feel connected to the characters. I don’t read YA very often, so that might have been part of why I struggled to get into the story. The writing leaned a bit more on telling than showing for my taste, but it’s clear the author poured a lot of heart into building this world. If you’re a fan of YA fantasy and you’re looking for something plot-driven, you might enjoy this one!
Big thank you to Flatiron for sending me an ARC of this upcoming release!
👉 I would recommend this book to
- YA fans getting into fantasy
- Readers who like fairytale inspired books
medium-paced
New Fantasy Alert! I was immediately drawn in to this after reading the description. Shocker because I rarely read descriptions. Immediately pulled in to the audiobook once I began listening with the deception and betrayal that we start off with. I was so intrigued to see why the betrayal which lead to disinherited and forced to serve another princess.
This one had all good bones and was a great debut fantasy novel. There were times where the story did get a little confusing and the pacing slowed, but I was invested to see how we would end. My question… is this going to be a series because I need to know what happens next. I feel like I was left on a big cliffhanger and now I can’t wait to see what happens next.
With that, yes, I enjoyed this one and the audiobook was good. I think the narrator did a great job with the characters. I felt like her voice was perfect for the characters. It made me wonder how I would feel if I read with my eyes! Anyway, if you’re a novice fantasy reader looking to dabble in to the genre, this would be perfect for you. And for my seasoned fantasy readers, I think you would enjoy it too!
This one had all good bones and was a great debut fantasy novel. There were times where the story did get a little confusing and the pacing slowed, but I was invested to see how we would end. My question… is this going to be a series because I need to know what happens next. I feel like I was left on a big cliffhanger and now I can’t wait to see what happens next.
With that, yes, I enjoyed this one and the audiobook was good. I think the narrator did a great job with the characters. I felt like her voice was perfect for the characters. It made me wonder how I would feel if I read with my eyes! Anyway, if you’re a novice fantasy reader looking to dabble in to the genre, this would be perfect for you. And for my seasoned fantasy readers, I think you would enjoy it too!
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
The Scorpion Queen is a YA fantasy debut that has the potential to be a really good book. Unfortunately, it mostly missed the mark for me. The writing left me feeling disconnected from, and even annoyed with, all of the characters (especially our FMC, Amia). The pacing was off, with not much happening for the first half of the book. The part with the god and empress was really interesting but after they left it kind of died down again. I also feel like it ended at a really weird spot and I feel like some parts could have been cut and a resolution could have been added to make this a decent standalone.
I made it to the end and didn’t absolutely hate it though! Would I continue the series? Probably not.
Thank you so much to Flatiron for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I made it to the end and didn’t absolutely hate it though! Would I continue the series? Probably not.
Thank you so much to Flatiron for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
