Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lnocita 's review for:
Four Dead Queens
by Astrid Scholte
3.5 stars rounded up
Four Dead Queens...breaks no new ground but is a fun read. Be patient! It starts off slowly before gathering steam. Keralie, 17, is determined to live a life of her own choosing not of her family's. She's drawn into the seamy underworld with a childhood friend, Mackiel, and becomes a consummate thief and pickpocket. Very Dickensian. Only Mackiel, the Fagin-like character, is the orphan, not Keralie. Keralie is drawn into a dangerous cat and mouse game between Mackiel and an unknown adversary who have plans to devastate the monarchy and install their own Queen. Keralie is the unwitting pawn. Like I said, not new territory. Keralie and Varin become reluctant partners as they flee for their lives from Mackiel and his henchmen. Both are full of regrets and unfulfilled desires and it's this commonality that tethers them to their goal of thwarting the impending takeover of the throne. There's also a very Inspector Clouseau, Detective Poirot-like character who has a very cinematic moment at the big climax. Personally, I think the story would have benefitted had he had a bigger, more commanding role and had perhaps been the main narrator rather relegated as a side character. There are a lot shifting POVs which make it hard to keep track of some details. I had the urge to make a crude map and character list for myself but then decided to just flow with my ambiguity. I am, afterall, behind on my goodreads reading challenge and the clock is ticking! However, this could be troublesome for some younger readers. Alas, if I hadn't hurriedly dove into chapter one I might not have missed a) the map; b) the explanations for each of the quadrants; and c) the Queenly Rules in their entirety. Oops.
I would give it a solid 4 stars if it weren't for the infernal need to throw in romance. Admittedly, romance rarely enamors me. I am not a teenaged girl, so perhaps the editors and marketing specialists know their target audience best but I would have been deeply satisfied with the novelty of a true friendship between Keralie and Varin. This could very well be the beginning of a series but it wraps up nicely with no cliffhanger ending. Really my only criticism is the resolution happens a bit too quickly and tidily.
Four Dead Queens...breaks no new ground but is a fun read. Be patient! It starts off slowly before gathering steam. Keralie, 17, is determined to live a life of her own choosing not of her family's. She's drawn into the seamy underworld with a childhood friend, Mackiel, and becomes a consummate thief and pickpocket. Very Dickensian. Only Mackiel, the Fagin-like character, is the orphan, not Keralie. Keralie is drawn into a dangerous cat and mouse game between Mackiel and an unknown adversary who have plans to devastate the monarchy and install their own Queen. Keralie is the unwitting pawn. Like I said, not new territory. Keralie and Varin become reluctant partners as they flee for their lives from Mackiel and his henchmen. Both are full of regrets and unfulfilled desires and it's this commonality that tethers them to their goal of thwarting the impending takeover of the throne. There's also a very Inspector Clouseau, Detective Poirot-like character who has a very cinematic moment at the big climax. Personally, I think the story would have benefitted had he had a bigger, more commanding role and had perhaps been the main narrator rather relegated as a side character. There are a lot shifting POVs which make it hard to keep track of some details. I had the urge to make a crude map and character list for myself but then decided to just flow with my ambiguity. I am, afterall, behind on my goodreads reading challenge and the clock is ticking! However, this could be troublesome for some younger readers. Alas, if I hadn't hurriedly dove into chapter one I might not have missed a) the map; b) the explanations for each of the quadrants; and c) the Queenly Rules in their entirety. Oops.
I would give it a solid 4 stars if it weren't for the infernal need to throw in romance. Admittedly, romance rarely enamors me. I am not a teenaged girl, so perhaps the editors and marketing specialists know their target audience best but I would have been deeply satisfied with the novelty of a true friendship between Keralie and Varin. This could very well be the beginning of a series but it wraps up nicely with no cliffhanger ending. Really my only criticism is the resolution happens a bit too quickly and tidily.