Publication Date: June 1st, 2017
Publisher: Skyscrape
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD
Synopsis: He wanted a warrior queen. He got a revolutionary.
As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.
But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.
Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.
My Rating
4/5 stars
My Review
The Hundredth Queen is a beautiful and captivating novel. It is a wonderful start to a fantastic new series.
Kalinda never expected to be claimed by a benefactor, she not particularly pretty or a skilled fighter. So when Rajah Tarek claims Kalinda as his 100th and final wife, everyone is shocked on why he picked her. Thrust into a life she never wanted, Kalinda must now battle any of his other wives or courtesans who want to steal her spot, or just kill her. To make matters worse, a burner has been following Kalinda as she makes her way to the palace, and won't stop until he gets to her.
This novel was great! I really enjoyed most of it. There were a few things that could have been changed to make the book more enjoyable, but it was pretty close to being perfect.
Kalinda is a wonderful main character. Her story is that of the typical underdog, and girl who realizes that she actually has powers, who must go on a quest. Her character development is also great, you see her going from a weak and insecure girl, to actually coming into herself and realizing just how amazing and powerful she can be. I absolutely loved Kalinda and reading from her point of view.
The romance is something I had a problem with in this book. First of all, there is insta love! If you know me, you know that I dislike it very much because it is so unrealistic that two people will both fall in love the first time they meet and their relationships work out. Yet that is exactly what happens to Kalina and Deven, and while I loved the whole princess and her guard trope, the insta love really put me off.
Before I started reading this book, I heard a lot of people mentioning that it has tons of girl on girl hate, but when I actually read the book I didn't really see it. Yes, there are females pinned to fight against one another in the arena, which is an unfortunate part of the culture of this book, but near the end Kalinda tries to get the women to band together. I think if the main character didn't try to put a stop to this, and she wasn't constantly talking about how wrong all of it was, then yes it would have been a lot of girl on girl hate, but it was just another part of the story, and it honestly made Kalinda's character even better for putting a stop to it.
The world building in this book was fantastic! The world that Emily King created was very unique and creative. It was really nice to get away from the typical americanized type of books.
The characters explore many areas, and the authors descriptions of the palace and the land were very clear and enjoyable!
The plot of the story was really good. There were a few parts of the story that were incredibly predictable, which was a bit unfortunate, but other than that the story and the pace was written really well.
If the book wasn't as predictable, and there was no insta-love, I would have definitely given this book 5 stars, it was honestly really close. I still highly recommend this book to all YA Fantasy fans, especially if you like books like The Bone Witch or The Wrath and the Dawn.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
Kalinda never expected to be claimed by a benefactor, she not particularly pretty or a skilled fighter. So when Rajah Tarek claims Kalinda as his 100th and final wife, everyone is shocked on why he picked her. Thrust into a life she never wanted, Kalinda must now battle any of his other wives or courtesans who want to steal her spot, or just kill her. To make matters worse, a burner has been following Kalinda as she makes her way to the palace, and won't stop until he gets to her.
This novel was great! I really enjoyed most of it. There were a few things that could have been changed to make the book more enjoyable, but it was pretty close to being perfect.
Kalinda is a wonderful main character. Her story is that of the typical underdog, and girl who realizes that she actually has powers, who must go on a quest. Her character development is also great, you see her going from a weak and insecure girl, to actually coming into herself and realizing just how amazing and powerful she can be. I absolutely loved Kalinda and reading from her point of view.
The romance is something I had a problem with in this book. First of all, there is insta love! If you know me, you know that I dislike it very much because it is so unrealistic that two people will both fall in love the first time they meet and their relationships work out. Yet that is exactly what happens to Kalina and Deven, and while I loved the whole princess and her guard trope, the insta love really put me off.
Before I started reading this book, I heard a lot of people mentioning that it has tons of girl on girl hate, but when I actually read the book I didn't really see it. Yes, there are females pinned to fight against one another in the arena, which is an unfortunate part of the culture of this book, but near the end Kalinda tries to get the women to band together. I think if the main character didn't try to put a stop to this, and she wasn't constantly talking about how wrong all of it was, then yes it would have been a lot of girl on girl hate, but it was just another part of the story, and it honestly made Kalinda's character even better for putting a stop to it.
The world building in this book was fantastic! The world that Emily King created was very unique and creative. It was really nice to get away from the typical americanized type of books.
The characters explore many areas, and the authors descriptions of the palace and the land were very clear and enjoyable!
The plot of the story was really good. There were a few parts of the story that were incredibly predictable, which was a bit unfortunate, but other than that the story and the pace was written really well.
If the book wasn't as predictable, and there was no insta-love, I would have definitely given this book 5 stars, it was honestly really close. I still highly recommend this book to all YA Fantasy fans, especially if you like books like The Bone Witch or The Wrath and the Dawn.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
Great review! I've been debating on whether to start this one or not and seeing people enjoying the first book of the series is definitely making me want to get my hands on it ASAP! The plot sounds amazing and I'm a sucker for anything Fantasy so, I might just give in! Thank you for sharing! Hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteElena @ Book Lady's Reviews
What a beautiful cover, I haven't heard of this one before but it sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles