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A review by offservicebookrecs
The Scorpion Queen by Mina Fears
dark
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? Yes
3.0
In a faraway court, a Malian princess waits for a suitor. Ninety-nine times she has watched her cruel father, the emperor, challenge young men to impossible trials. Ninety-nine times she has watched them boil to death for their failures. Public drama around these trials always runs high, but the private drama of court is even more delicious. Sixteen-year-old Amie, the princess's newest handmaiden, is a recently disgraced salt merchant's daughter who has been accused of scandalous crimes and will spend the rest of her life disgraced. Torn from her fiancé and the prosperous life she once enjoyed, her days now consist of drudgery and dealing with the whims of a moody princess. United in grief, Princess Mariama and Amie find themselves drawn to each other in inexplicable ways - until a mysterious discovery, an exiled god, and the change to change their fates forces Amie to find courage in ways she never expected - and make choices that could ruin everyone.
I love a good fairytale-inspired story, especially when there's a chance for feminine rage ad reclaiming in that story as well. "The Scorpion Queen" certainly had these elements, and there were a lot of things I loved about the overall vibes here too - rich girls who don't naturally take to servitude; realistic goals about how to make your forbidden love work; main characters who aren't golden boys/girls (I am firmly in the camp of "I don't have to love them for them to be the MC" and sometimes it's better if I don't); secret plots; magical realism; and surprising and not-so-subtle bi-subtext, which was unexpected and surprisingly suffused with yearning. There were a few points where I lost the plot a little bit and had questions/interests that weren't answered, but for the most part we found our way back to things, and I am concerned that the misunderstanding trope is going to be driving too much of this story (which for some people may be a bonus, but it's one that I'm not a huge fan of, personally) going forward, but I generally had a good (if at points sad) time, and hope that the next book really digs into the magical portion of this universe and we get to sink our teeth into some solid revenge.
I love a good fairytale-inspired story, especially when there's a chance for feminine rage ad reclaiming in that story as well. "The Scorpion Queen" certainly had these elements, and there were a lot of things I loved about the overall vibes here too - rich girls who don't naturally take to servitude; realistic goals about how to make your forbidden love work; main characters who aren't golden boys/girls (I am firmly in the camp of "I don't have to love them for them to be the MC" and sometimes it's better if I don't); secret plots; magical realism; and surprising and not-so-subtle bi-subtext, which was unexpected and surprisingly suffused with yearning. There were a few points where I lost the plot a little bit and had questions/interests that weren't answered, but for the most part we found our way back to things, and I am concerned that the misunderstanding trope is going to be driving too much of this story (which for some people may be a bonus, but it's one that I'm not a huge fan of, personally) going forward, but I generally had a good (if at points sad) time, and hope that the next book really digs into the magical portion of this universe and we get to sink our teeth into some solid revenge.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Sexual harassment