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amybraunauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A murder mystery with a unique method of storytelling, FOUR DEAD QUEENS took a fresh route to its premise with interesting characters and plenty of plot twists. It followed the four ruling Queens of Quadara as they are targeted for assassination, as well as the story of young thief Keralie who finds herself wrapped up in the conspiracy.
Keralie is easy to like and root for. She has interesting relationships—both positive and negative—that add to her backstory and lead her to the different elements of the plot. The Queens are representative of their quadrant, allowing them to have different personalities. There are some romantic subplots that are explored, with Keralie's being the strongest and allowing for the most development.
While the writing is good, the pacing is fairly solid and the concept is original, I'm not entirely sold on the execution (pardon the pun). Oh, there are plenty of twists and I didn't see most of them coming, but at the end I felt myself asking: "Why?" about certain narrative choices. There were things that, while they made sense, didn't quite make enough sense for me to have felt a lasting impact. It's odd, because the stakes were there and they were very real, but I think some of the biggest twists were a little random, and certain plot lines didn't really feel resolved.
FOUR DEAD QUEENS is a good book for readers who enjoy the most unexpected of twists and a good murder mystery with a strong female lead, so I would recommend it to anyone who is curious and looking for something fun to read on a weekend.
Keralie is easy to like and root for. She has interesting relationships—both positive and negative—that add to her backstory and lead her to the different elements of the plot. The Queens are representative of their quadrant, allowing them to have different personalities. There are some romantic subplots that are explored, with Keralie's being the strongest and allowing for the most development.
While the writing is good, the pacing is fairly solid and the concept is original, I'm not entirely sold on the execution (pardon the pun). Oh, there are plenty of twists and I didn't see most of them coming, but at the end I felt myself asking: "Why?" about certain narrative choices. There were things that, while they made sense, didn't quite make enough sense for me to have felt a lasting impact. It's odd, because the stakes were there and they were very real, but I think some of the biggest twists were a little random, and certain plot lines didn't really feel resolved.
FOUR DEAD QUEENS is a good book for readers who enjoy the most unexpected of twists and a good murder mystery with a strong female lead, so I would recommend it to anyone who is curious and looking for something fun to read on a weekend.
bnryan95's review against another edition
3.0
I finished this weeks ago and somehow forgot to mark it as read or write a review. It was okay.
dafer96's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
petitpoisauwasabi's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.0
druaddams's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 en realidad.
Es de fácil lectura y entretenido. Tiene un buen giro sobre el final. No sé si, tal vez, algo se perdió en la traducción, pero siento que el faltó ALGO. Mi relación con los personajes se mantuvo bastante superficial. No me preocupé por ninguno de ellos hasta la cuarta parte, a excepción de Varin. La resolución se me hizo demasiado 'fácil'. Le faltó algo de épica al final.
Es un lindo libro, una buena lectura. El mundo construído por la autora es interesante, aunque hay muchos conflictos con el mundo que plantea que quedan muy poco resueltos. Me interesaría ver si ha escrito o planea escribir otras historias en este mismo universo.
Es de fácil lectura y entretenido. Tiene un buen giro sobre el final. No sé si, tal vez, algo se perdió en la traducción, pero siento que el faltó ALGO. Mi relación con los personajes se mantuvo bastante superficial. No me preocupé por ninguno de ellos hasta la cuarta parte, a excepción de Varin. La resolución se me hizo demasiado 'fácil'. Le faltó algo de épica al final.
Es un lindo libro, una buena lectura. El mundo construído por la autora es interesante, aunque hay muchos conflictos con el mundo que plantea que quedan muy poco resueltos. Me interesaría ver si ha escrito o planea escribir otras historias en este mismo universo.
secretdearest's review against another edition
1.0
DNFed
Sorry, but the story just wasn't original. It was hard to remember which region did what. Also, the narration wasn't fluent enough. I found myself not caring about Keralie and about what would happen to her. It's understandable that a 17-year old can steal and lie, however, it would be nice if she was more proper and a better example.
Sorry, but the story just wasn't original. It was hard to remember which region did what. Also, the narration wasn't fluent enough. I found myself not caring about Keralie and about what would happen to her. It's understandable that a 17-year old can steal and lie, however, it would be nice if she was more proper and a better example.
worldsunlikeourown's review against another edition
4.0
Read more reviews on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
3.5 stars
Four Dead Queens follows accomplished street thief Keralie Corrington as on one of her robberies, she intercepts some information that leaves her mired in a conspiracy to kill Quadara's queens.
I've been seeing advance reviews for this all over the place for months now, but for me, it did not live up to the hype. For a standalone, there is way too much content in this. Not to mention the world-building is all over the place. There are some vaguely fantasy-esque elements and a lot of advanced technology all in the same breath before it eventually winds up being a mystery. And with six different perspectives, it gets confusing really quickly. Quadara itself, however, was really intriguing, with the four quadrants each responsible for different professions and aspects of life, and I would have liked to read more about it. I'm still wondering though, how exactly a system would run with such laws in place, that Queens cannot visit their quadrants once crowned and so on. It's very unrealistic.
As for the characters themselves, I was not very impressed with Keralie. With her personality (downright childish at times) and history, it's very hard to cheer for her as a heroine. No, the characters I liked the most were the four queens. Their POVs, though few compared to Keralie's, were really well written and it was especially nice to get a look at their thoughts and past. Once I figured out that the story wasn't being told in a linear fashion, everything fell into place and it became much easier to follow along.
Either way, Four Dead Queens was an engaging and fast-paced read, quite good for a debut novel. There is definitely no shortage of exciting plot twists and it keeps you guessing for quite some time!
3.5 stars
Four Dead Queens follows accomplished street thief Keralie Corrington as on one of her robberies, she intercepts some information that leaves her mired in a conspiracy to kill Quadara's queens.
I've been seeing advance reviews for this all over the place for months now, but for me, it did not live up to the hype. For a standalone, there is way too much content in this. Not to mention the world-building is all over the place. There are some vaguely fantasy-esque elements and a lot of advanced technology all in the same breath before it eventually winds up being a mystery. And with six different perspectives, it gets confusing really quickly. Quadara itself, however, was really intriguing, with the four quadrants each responsible for different professions and aspects of life, and I would have liked to read more about it. I'm still wondering though, how exactly a system would run with such laws in place, that Queens cannot visit their quadrants once crowned and so on. It's very unrealistic.
As for the characters themselves, I was not very impressed with Keralie. With her personality (downright childish at times) and history, it's very hard to cheer for her as a heroine. No, the characters I liked the most were the four queens. Their POVs, though few compared to Keralie's, were really well written and it was especially nice to get a look at their thoughts and past. Once I figured out that the story wasn't being told in a linear fashion, everything fell into place and it became much easier to follow along.
Either way, Four Dead Queens was an engaging and fast-paced read, quite good for a debut novel. There is definitely no shortage of exciting plot twists and it keeps you guessing for quite some time!
ssofiiii0's review against another edition
4.0
Es exelente, la evolución de los personajes, los plot twist que hay, como se te dan pistas que poco a poco se van juntando para armar el panorama completo es ✨exelente ✨ ame cada párrafo y aunque los primeros capítulos no me parecieron tan wow cada vez me fue atrapando más y más y más
acorndragon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
emleemay's review against another edition
2.0
[b:Four Dead Queens|34213319|Four Dead Queens|Astrid Scholte|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1527875244s/34213319.jpg|55261617] was being given away when I attended the Penguin talk at Comic-Con back in July 2018. Before this, I knew nothing about it, but I was immediately drawn in by the promise of a murder mystery in a fantasy setting. I'm a sucker for murder mysteries in general, and adding this to a fantasy world seemed like a recipe for excellence.
It didn't really work for me, though. Part of the problem might be that this book - a standalone, it seems - tries to do too many things and stretches itself way too thin in the process. It contains six different perspectives in total; all third person except for Keralee's perspective. It also contains weak fantasy-esque politics, an investigation into a murder, vague sci-fi concepts like genetic alterations and comm chips, and a romance that is thrown in for no reason I can see.
The fantasy part and its worldbuilding felt lacking. Many of the explanations given for the land and political system of Quadara didn't quite make sense to me. When a history is painted in, there's a vague mention of the one king and a war before the founding four queens built walls to split the land into quarters, each one ruling over their own section. I had a hard time picturing how this took place and why this was an adequate solution. Likewise, the rules of the "Queenly Law" seem ill-conceived. I don't understand why the queens are not allowed to visit the land they rule over.
At the time of the novel, the four ruling queens are Iris of Archia, Corra of Eonia, Stessa of Ludia and Marguerite of Toria. As the title reveals, the queens start being murdered one by one, so an investigator is called in to find the killer. Alongside this runs the story of street thief Keralee, who ingests some comm chips and sees visions of the queens' deaths. Accompanied by the beautiful but stoic Varin - ooh, what could happen? - she travels to the palace to reveal what she has seen.
Now, I know some people can read mysteries and just let events unfold without attempting to work it out in their head. I often wish I was this type of reader, but I can’t. Just say the word “mystery” and I’m instantly suspicious of everything. And this is not a good book to be suspicious of everything. The author drops a very heavy-handed piece of information about a third of the way through that made me instantly figure out who must be behind the murders.
And yet, despite this, there is still a touch of deus ex machina about it, given that
Again, I have no idea why the romance was in here. There's no build-up or chemistry. You can spot the love interest in chapter one by the way Keralie starts describing his beautiful skin, which is apparently “delicate, but hardy”... whatever that means. This is then followed by Keralee saying or thinking dirty jokes at the most inappropriate of times. Like her comment about Varin wanting to undress her while she is literally drowning.
I felt very frustrated with Keralee. I get that she’s supposed to be a bit of an antiheroine, but she just came across as petty and childishly mean. We sympathise with antiheroines because they are complicated and, deep down, we can see the messed up reasons behind their actions. That wasn’t the case with Keralee. When we first meet her, she slaps away an old man’s cane so he falls over. That's not flawed and interesting; that's Peeves the poltergeist.
It was all a little too obvious, and a little too messy. Regular mystery readers will figure it out early, and everyone else probably won't be far behind. I liked that two of the queens were secretly lovers, but it's a shame that these two queer characters were both killed off (their romance all happens off-page because one of them is already dead when we find out). And this is a big spoiler but I’m surprised this is being called a “feminist” fantasy as
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It didn't really work for me, though. Part of the problem might be that this book - a standalone, it seems - tries to do too many things and stretches itself way too thin in the process. It contains six different perspectives in total; all third person except for Keralee's perspective. It also contains weak fantasy-esque politics, an investigation into a murder, vague sci-fi concepts like genetic alterations and comm chips, and a romance that is thrown in for no reason I can see.
The fantasy part and its worldbuilding felt lacking. Many of the explanations given for the land and political system of Quadara didn't quite make sense to me. When a history is painted in, there's a vague mention of the one king and a war before the founding four queens built walls to split the land into quarters, each one ruling over their own section. I had a hard time picturing how this took place and why this was an adequate solution. Likewise, the rules of the "Queenly Law" seem ill-conceived. I don't understand why the queens are not allowed to visit the land they rule over.
At the time of the novel, the four ruling queens are Iris of Archia, Corra of Eonia, Stessa of Ludia and Marguerite of Toria. As the title reveals, the queens start being murdered one by one, so an investigator is called in to find the killer. Alongside this runs the story of street thief Keralee, who ingests some comm chips and sees visions of the queens' deaths. Accompanied by the beautiful but stoic Varin - ooh, what could happen? - she travels to the palace to reveal what she has seen.
Now, I know some people can read mysteries and just let events unfold without attempting to work it out in their head. I often wish I was this type of reader, but I can’t. Just say the word “mystery” and I’m instantly suspicious of everything. And this is not a good book to be suspicious of everything. The author drops a very heavy-handed piece of information about a third of the way through that made me instantly figure out who must be behind the murders.
And yet, despite this, there is still a touch of deus ex machina about it, given that
Spoiler
we don’t even meet the culprit until close to the end of the book.Again, I have no idea why the romance was in here. There's no build-up or chemistry. You can spot the love interest in chapter one by the way Keralie starts describing his beautiful skin, which is apparently “delicate, but hardy”... whatever that means. This is then followed by Keralee saying or thinking dirty jokes at the most inappropriate of times. Like her comment about Varin wanting to undress her while she is literally drowning.
I felt very frustrated with Keralee. I get that she’s supposed to be a bit of an antiheroine, but she just came across as petty and childishly mean. We sympathise with antiheroines because they are complicated and, deep down, we can see the messed up reasons behind their actions. That wasn’t the case with Keralee. When we first meet her, she slaps away an old man’s cane so he falls over. That's not flawed and interesting; that's Peeves the poltergeist.
It was all a little too obvious, and a little too messy. Regular mystery readers will figure it out early, and everyone else probably won't be far behind. I liked that two of the queens were secretly lovers, but it's a shame that these two queer characters were both killed off (their romance all happens off-page because one of them is already dead when we find out). And this is a big spoiler but I’m surprised this is being called a “feminist” fantasy as
Spoiler
pretty much everything is orchestrated by a man. He not only has three women murdered, including two queer women, but he is also the mastermind behind the female villain’s plans. She only does it because she’s hot for him and allows him to manipulate her.Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube