Wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. Not sure if it was the pacing or what, but I couldn't get engaged. DNF.

I gave this a try, and ultimately realised it wasn't for me. I ended up DNFing this one, but would recommend fans of YA fantasy give it a try. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!

I realized this wasn't a book that would work for me before I downloaded it. Clearing out my backlog of Archived, Not Downloaded.

I really enjoyed this book! The world was great and I really shipped the characters. I own all the books in the series so do plan to read further.

I ended up DNFing this book after a couple of chapters. Sadly, it wasn't for me and I had no interest in reading further.

The first time I picked up this book, I was enjoying it, but other books kept pulling my attention so I put it down. Then, after a few years, I decided that it was time to try this one again. And you know what? I remembered exactly why I was enjoying it the first time around. The premise was engaging and definitely begs you to keep turning the page. The characters weren't my favourite at first but I wanted to know more, I wanted to see them overcome each new struggle.

I definitely want to continue with this series, especially after the way this one ended.

Because of the plot point of the king's one hundred wives, I thought this book was based on 1001 Nights, so that's why I've taken so long to read it. I didn't particularly feel like reading a book like that.

However, I was wrong.

And while I don't know the specifics behind what inspired the author, I can say that I really liked her melting-pot approach to mixing different customs and traditions to create her own world. I'm a huge fan of multiculturalism, and I love it when books like this and movies, like Moana for instance, don't try to represent just one culture, but embrace differences between cultures, and take inspiration from a range of different cultures and traditions to tell a story that's more original than sticking to the truth of retelling one culture story. So in King's world, mixing these various cultures all together works well to present a fictionalised fantasy world that's not based in the real world. I enjoyed that aspect.

I was a bit concerned that we might get a lot of girl on girl hate, since the entire premise centres around women fighting each other for the approval of more powerful men, but apart from one character - the one who had the most to lose, so I thought it believable that she instantly hate Kali - I didn't really see a lot of girl on girl hate. I saw a lot of girls supporting each other, like Kali's best friend/possible love interest Jaya, the mother of Kali's (only acknowledged) male love interest, Deven, and several gossipy friends Kali made while at the palace.

Speaking of Kali's love interest, first I'll talk about the one that's not acknowledged. Kali and Jaya have a very close friendship that never overtly stated they were romantic about each other, but I read it that way. They sleep in the same bed, and Kali's main goal for most of the novel revolves around Jaya: freeing herself so she can free Jaya, getting back to Jaya, using Jaya as motivation. So while not technically a love interest, and never acknowledged as being lesbians, I definitely feel that this was more than just a strong plutonic friendship (which I am a big supporter of, so I don't often read more into friendships than that). The main love interest Deven, the first man Kali ever lays eyes on, had zero chemistry with her, and together, Kali and Deven did really stupid things that seemed overly risky when Kali is the future wife of a powerful rajah. So you can see why I ship Kali and Jaya.

For your information, there is definitely no love triangle, whether it's between Kali, Jaya and Deven, or Kali, Deven, and another male character introduced later on that some have suspected of developing into a love triangle in future books. Also, there is absolutely no love between Kali and Rajah Tarek. He's besotted because she reminds him of his deceased first wife. She despises him. No love triangles.

I guess I kind of enjoyed this book, but it also frustrated me with some things that seemed inconsistent or just not thought out very well. Like, the wives and courtesans aren't allowed in each other's wings, but they sneak in there anyway and don't get caught. The wives (or maybe just Kali) are guarded outside their door by men, and no one expects them to take advantage of this and act totally surprised when a wife runs off with a guard. There was a scene where blood was spilled on Kali's bed, and no one would be suspicious of this? The rajah gifted Kali with a carriage, and then they have to travel through a desert. Not to mention that time after time, other characters all risked Kali's welfare with little regard to the consequences.

On the other hand, Kali wasn't stupid. She was actually pretty insightful, reaching conclusions quickly that other novels often leave pages and pages before characters join the dots and realise certain things readers understand instantly. Because of this, there was a revelation at the end of the novel that caught me completely off guard and that I really enjoyed.

While I won't heartily recommend this book to anyone and everyone, I did personally enjoy it more than I didn't.

The Hundredth Queen was a fun, light read. If you can ignore the instalove, you'll be eagerly waiting for the sequel.

I really had a hard time determining what I thought about this book... For one, I figured I should love it, because so many people were hyping this book on Goodreads a time ago, I believed that I, too, would fall in love. And another reason, was because sometimes I do get suckered into reading about "speshul" snowflakes, and actually enjoy what I'm reading, because sometimes I am simple like that...
But unfortunately for me, The Hundredth Queen just didn't quite cut it. I didn't exactly find it horrible, and did enjoy one thing that I will address, but overall, I didn't love it.

Let me now mention what I actually liked:
I appreciated the loyalty Kali had towards those she cared for. I'll admit that I can be the type that finds it excessive if the loyalty goes beyond what I feel is necessary (in my case, it's mostly due to my impatience), so though there were moments in which I wanted to roll my eyes because of Kali's naivety, I appreciated the fact that she genuinely cared about people.

Okay, now for the bad...
As I was having the hardest time getting into this book (the pacing was just so uneventful), I realized how much I didn't like the idea of these women (one hundred wives and countless courtesans) fighting in order to gain a better rank among themselves, just to please one man. I didn't like that they might be powerful women, but it meant nothing if they couldn't survive these battles. They scarred each other, lost limbs, or died in order to improve their ranks, or in the case of a courtesan, to hopefully become one of the wives.

Then, of course there's instalove!!! The relationship between Kali and her love interest is so boring and dry. There's the whole 'falling for each other at first sight' thing, but they're forbidden, since Kali is intended for someone else. So, yes, this means a lot of stolen moments that are cheesy and boring.

Before I end this review, I wanted to be sure to add that the whole idea of the women being lowly in this book, is something that Kali does work to overcome. I won't get any deeper into this because it'd be too much of a spoiler, but I can give credit to Kali for not completely bowing to submission and actually attempting to show strength when she's up against someone more powerful than she.

I did find myself intrigued enough with how this book ended to possibly read the next book, but because I didn't like this one all that much, I probably won't rush it.
And as for recommending it? Can't say that I will be doing that.

Firstly, absolutely beautiful cover, however I felt as thought the storyline was just a bit of a mix of previous book I had read in this genre. I was expecting something a bit more unique than I got.

A great start to a new series! I enjoyed the great characters, the lush setting and all of the magic. Looking forward to reading the next installment!

gave this book 2.5 stars. Honestly, I have read way better. I appreciate the attempt at diversity, but this book was severely lacking in many different ways.

This book had a pretty big element of romance. Sadly, I could not have cared less about the romance in this book. There was a love triangle that was just frustrating so it was best to just not care what happened with that.

The plot itself was much more engaging anyway, however, it’s pretty overused. Do you have any idea how many books I’ve read that have tournaments? To name a few there’s the Hunger Games, Divergent, Olympian Challenger, Throne of Glass, and The Goblet of Fire. There are just too many books like that out there for this to be an original story. I loved the fact that there was a unique setting in a sort of eastern inspired fantasy.

I just could not get into this book. Nothing about the characters really spoke to me. I didn’t care about Kalinda at all. She was a pretty flat character. And of the millions of other characters in this book, I can honestly say I didn’t like a single one of them. They just weren’t interesting or dynamic at all.

I also hate the thing that happens in so many books where someone will tell the protagonist that she just has to deal with something because others have it worse and she’s just got it so much better than them. It honestly pisses me off every single time it happens. These people act like they know so much about the protagonist but they don’t. You shouldn’t tell someone that they have to deal with something they are having a hard time with it’s honestly so stupid to me.

Overall, I know for a fact I will never read this book again or read any of the sequels because I’m just not that into it.

3.5*

I enjoyed the world building and the plot. Some parts were a bit similar to Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath and The Dawn. The insta-love and the Claiming scene at the beginning (unnecessarily cringing) are reasons for my lower rating. I will continue on the next book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook.

*I received The Hundredth Queen in exchange for an honest review* ~Thank you to the author and publisher!

Okay ... the cover is stunning. And what's in between the cover does not disappoint. The entire premise behind the book pulls you in. And this read is dark. The part that made me cringe for Kalinda and her sisters was the part where the prince/king/dictator assesses them naked to chose his next bride. How humiliating and degrading is that? Perhaps it added fuel to the fire, a fire that needed to burn him a long time ago.

Kalinda is wonderful. For me, even the villainous were victims. I empathized with all walks in this novel. I loved the surprise ending. I truly did not see that coming.

Overall, if you are a lover of fantasies, females with strength (these girls are piranha's) and a time long ago, The Hundredth Queen is the book for you. I enjoyed it. I am eager to get on with the next in this series.

I didn't like the first book or couldn't get into it... sorry wasn't my cup of tea I shall say! But I tried!

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.

Really enjoyed the beginning of this fantasy series by Emily R. King. The world-building and magic system really drew me in, but I think my favorite part was the friendship between Kali and Jaya. My interview with Emily is available here: https://www.meganwritenow.com/single-post/2017/05/22/Author-Spotlight-Emily-R-King-talks-The-Hundredth-Queen

*Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

First off, the cover is stunning. It's the whole reason I wanted this book. I am that person that judges a book by it's cover.... I mean the blurb helps too duh.

Now for the short review. It's not a bad book bur it's not the best book either. The world building is top notch and the characters are great. The ending though.... towards the end rather... it just fell apart to me. I was loving this book at first, I was planning to give it 5 stars and then ending...

Don't even get me started on the insta-love! Just no. I hate insta-love with a passion.

Overall, I'm nervous to continue in case the next book is more like the ending...

This review will go live on my blog on 12/3/2017
http://sweetcherry69.blogspot.com/

The Hundredth Queen is by far one of my favorite books of 2017. I received an ARC of this incredible book before it even had a cover and I was completely obsessed after just reading one chapter. I am one of those readers who is usually drawn to a book because of the cover so when I received this book I read it just because the synopsis sounded intriguing.....and WOW am I happy that I gave this book a chance! The Hundredth Queen blew me away.....I literally could not put the book down and finished it in one weekend.

The Hundredth Queen was full of magic, suspense, fantasy, action, betrayal, and swoon-worthy romance. Emily's writing is beautiful, captivating, and full of emotion. Each character is unique and fascinating in their own way but the main character, Kalinda, is the heart of the story. Kalinda is a strong female heroine who beats the odds to become one of the Rajah's queens.....most importantly his Hundredth Queen.

Kali is torn from her peaceful and serene life at the Sisterhood's temple and brought to the Rajah's palace where she will fight for her life in a tournament against his other ninety-nine queens and also his courtesans.

When Kali is pulled from the temple she is escorted to the Rajah's palace by Deven, a high-ranking palace guard. I loved the immediate connection between Kali and Deven and how easily they became intertwined with each other. Deven's fierce protectiveness toward Kali was beautiful and breath-taking and their romance felt like it was destined to be.

“His warm smile squeezes me breathless."

Another aspect of the story that I loved was how Emily portrayed the importance of strong female relationships between the characters all throughout the story.

The Hundredth Queen is a sweeping YA fantasy that is full of incredible world-building, breath-taking romance, and a magical journey that will keep you intrigued until the last page. There were so many fascinating twists and turns throughout the story and each turn of the page seemed to be more suspenseful than the last. Each chapter was so exciting and intriguing and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I literally cannot wait to read The Fire Queen to see what lies ahead for Kalinda and her journey to become the One Hundredth Queen.

Perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Rebel Sands, Emily R. King’s debut novel The Hundredth Queen is a deeply compelling fantasy story set in a harsh desert land and interwoven with rich magic, thrilling danger and forbidden love.

Eighteen year old orphan Kalinda has lived her life in the seclusion of the Sisterhood, her days spent in prayer or training. Plagued by fevers her whole life and known for her sickly childhood, Kalinda does not expect herself to be claimed as even a servant, let alone a wife or courtesan. So when the tyrannical leader of the kingdom Rajah Tarak chooses her to be his hundredth bride, Kalinda is shocked. Though her skills with a slingshot are adequate, she is far from the warrior Rajah Tarak believes her to be. Kalinda soon finds herself ripped from her home and journeying to the palace where she is expected to fight for her place amongst the other ninety-nine wives and courtesans. Kalinda has fire in her soul and determination in her belly, but even as she wants to live, a life by Rajah Tarak’s side is not what she desires, especially as she battles her growing fascination with her guard, the kind and capable Captain Deven Narik. The palace hides startling secrets and only by learning the truth about both them and herself does Kalinda have any chance of making it out alive.

The Hundredth Queen is a daring and fascinating fantasy read steeped in Middle Eastern-style traditions and heritages. Weaving luscious desert settings together with imperative elements, abilities and aspects of romance, Emily R. King has created an addictive and high stakes story. Readers are sure to find themselves engrossed in Kalinda’s journey and adventure as she comes to learn who she is and fights for her survival and happiness.

Fantastically paced, The Hundredth Queen is highly entertaining and has all the elements of this kind of fantasy tale I adore. King does a wonderful job setting the stage and creating the setting; from the harsh, formable desert to the dirty and clustered villages and opulent palace. It was right out of history, given a magical twist with fire, earth, water and air elements explored through the Bhutas, a race of people who can control these elements and who are both the hunted and the hunter during The Hundredth Queen.

There's a real mix of cultures and cultural aspects in The Hundredth Queen. I feel like Emily R. King took different elements of various mythologies and Middle Eastern and Indian heritages and twisted them together as she brought her world to life. It gave it that Moroccan/Oriental feel with a twist. King also explored the well known ancient treatment of women as being something to be owned in The Hundredth Queen, an obstacle heroine Kalinda continues to fight to overcome.

I enjoyed seeing Kalinda’s quiet fight against those who would use her as they will and her determination to protect those she loves. Though she is not the strongest, bravest or most beautiful across the land, Kalinda encompassed everything I look for in a great heroine and I applauded her fire—no pun intended. Emily R. King wrote her very well and I can only imagine the growth she is sure to undertake as the series progresses.

There are many characters and individuals Kalinda meets throughout the story. The large array of characters and names is confusing at first, but there were a few who stand out for their personalities and purpose within the story including Deven as the love interest and Kalinda’s source of comfort and friendship as well as Brac, Jaya and Natesa. I hope to see many of these characters in future stories and hope to see the take on greater roles especially Brac who was highly entertaining to witness. Oh, and more romance please, possibly for Natesa who deserves some happiness of her own.

Very satisfying, The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King is a fantastic debut and offers readers a glimpse into a danger ridden fantasy world set in an alluring desert kingdom. I’ve very much keen to see what happens next and will be looking to jump straight into the sequel The Fire Queen. I definitely recommend this one!