Completely forgettable. Generic plot, insta-love and bad female relationships.

Okay, so I have to admit that what initially drew me to this book were the first lines of the synopsis: “He wanted a warrior queen. He got a revolutionary.” That just screamed kick ass heroine to me so I couldn’t wait to dive into Emily King’s The Hundredth Queen, the first book in The Hundredth Queen series. The Hundredth Queen follows eighteen-year-old Kalinda, a sickly orphan girl who is a ward of the Sisterhood. Because she has been prone to fevers her entire life, she has not received much of the training that her fellow wards have received. This makes her a very unlikely candidate for the future that most of her fellow wards wish for – that of being ‘claimed’ by a royal family. Wards who are ‘claimed’ go on to become servants, or sometimes even courtesans or wives.

Kalinda is fully prepared to join the Sisterhood when the time comes and live a life of seclusion and prayer. In fact, she’d much prefer this over the alternative. When Rajah Tarek, who has the reputation of being a tyrant, comes to the Sisterhood looking to claim a new courtesan, as well as his 100th wife, Kalinda and her beloved friend Jaya conspire so as not to be chosen by Rajah. Their plan unfortunately backfires and Rajah chooses Kalinda to be his 100th wife, taking her away from Jaya and the only life she has ever known.

What Kalinda soon learns is that being the 100th wife means she must take part in a Rank Tournament to defend her place among Rajah’s other wives and courtesans and that the Rank Tournament is basically a fight to the death. Kalinda is horrified by the idea that all of these women are willing to kill each other just to improve their wifely ranking and is desperate to find a way out of her predicament, especially since she has no interest in being Rajah’s wife. Instead, she has fallen head over heels for one of Rajah’s guards, Captain Deven Naik. Kalinda wants nothing more than to find a way to escape her unwanted fate and be with the man she loves. Her best chance for escape comes when she learns that those fevers she has suffered from all her life are actually so much more than just fevers. Instead, they are a manifestation of a latent power she possesses but that the Sisterhood has kept hidden by dosing her with a “fever” tonic. Why? Because the power Kalinda possesses is forbidden and could mean death if the wrong people were to find out about it.

Can Kalinda harness this power while keeping it a secret from those who would harm her? And can she use it to escape this death match that Rajah has set her up for?

LIKES

Kalinda was definitely my favorite part of The Hundredth Queen. I always enjoy reading about an underdog that I can root for and with her fevers and lack of training, she is immediately presented in the role of the underdog. As I was reading about the ‘Claiming’ process and seeing how few options women have in this society, I was completely turned off, so I found Kalinda very relatable as soon as it became clear that she felt the same way I did about the few choices women had. After seeing that all she wanted was to be able to choose her own path rather than have it dictated to her, it was that much more heart-wrenching to see her taken away and therefore separated from Jaya, who is obviously like a sister to her.

I continued to relate to Kalinda once she learned about the Rank Tournament and was horrified to find out what all of these women are willing to do to each other just to compete for Rajah’s attention. The treatment of women in the book is truly appalling, and Kalinda’s recognition of that, along with those first lines of the synopsis made me perk up once more: Is Kalinda going to be the revolutionary who changes everything?
As awful as the idea of the Rank Tournament was, I have to admit that the training scenes and especially the combat scenes in the novel are pretty amazing. Those wives and courtesans are not people you want to end up on the wrong side of. They are fierce and they’re willing to fight dirty to get what they want. Lakia, Rajah’s number 1 wife is especially vicious and I feared for Kalinda on more than one occasion because Lakia really seems to have it in for her.

Aside from a relatable underdog main character and some epic action scenes, another aspect of the novel I enjoyed was the forbidden magic. Those who possess the magic are called Bhuta and they are just fascinating. Rajah has had many of them killed over the years, but those who have survived are in hiding and hoping to find a way to strike back at Rajah. We don’t learn too much about them in this book, so I hope they will be explored in more depth in future books in the series. What we do know is that their powers appear to be elemental, based on earth, wind, air, and fire.

DISLIKES/ISSUES

Even though I enjoyed The Hundredth Queen overall, I did have some issues with it. My biggest issue with it lies in the relationship between Kalinda and Captain Deven Naik. As soon as Kalinda and Deven see each other for the first time, they’re mutually obsessed, and for no apparent reason. For me, it just felt awkward and forced since there was no build up to it at all. It was 100% instalove, which never works well for me. What I also didn’t like though was the way Kalinda keeps putting Deven in compromising positions. She knows full well that Rajah will kill Deven if he suspects Deven and Kalinda are romantically involved, but yet she keeps talking to him in private and otherwise calling attention to themselves when they should be keeping a safe distance from each other. At one point she even kisses him where anyone could have walked in and caught them. I just didn’t care very much for her reckless behavior. Deven of course is equally to blame. If he wants to stay alive, he needs to stay away from Rajah’s soon-to-be wife. It’s not rocket science.

I honestly thought Kalinda had a lot more chemistry with a character named Brac. He is one of the magical Bhuta, and while I don’t want to say too much about him because of spoilers, he actually ended up being one of my favorite characters and I preferred his interactions with Kalinda’s to her interactions with Deven.
One other issue I had was that I didn’t have a clear understanding of the Rank Tournament. It didn’t make sense to me that these women were really willing to die or to murder someone else in order to reach a higher wifely rank or else to move from courtesan status to wife status. I would have liked more explanation about why these women were so eager to challenge each other and if there was some other point to it aside from getting more attention from Rajah. Speaking of Rajah, I also didn’t really understand why he was so obsessed with following some obscure legend step-by-by, especially since it meant his chosen women had to kill each other. Following this legend is why he instituted the Rank Tournament in the first place and it was unclear to me why it was important enough to him to warrant killing people. Those areas of the storytelling were a little vague and I would have liked them fleshed out more.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Even though I clearly had some issues with The Hundredth Queen, I still found it to be an entertaining read overall. I’m definitely invested enough in Kalinda’s story to pick up the second book.

RATING: 3.5 STARS

Wow wow wow. That's all I can say! Fantastically written, and an awesome concept. Book 2 doesn't disappoint either. I can't wait for book #3!

Did not finish at 20%. The story was very poorly written and predictable.

Many thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

Unfortunately, I did not finish it.

I wasn't a fan of the romance, as it happened too quickly in my opinion. There was no build up or tension.

I also didn't connect to the main character. She felt like a cardboard cut out of a typical YA protagonist.

As I didn’t connect with the mc, and was unable to ship the romance I lost interest.

Thrilling, heart-escalating, and well thought out. It screams FEMINIST.
The Hundredth Queen kept me at the edge of my seat and I regret for not reading it sooner. Kalinda is a great protagonist and she isn't afraid to speak her mind. She's a fast learner too. Being sick most of her life has made her fall behind in training but with the help and confidence of her friends and the people she trusts she does her best to win the tournament.

"My senses sharpen in anticipation and soak in his nearness. I wish to push him away and to yank him close, to tell him to leave and to ask him to stay forever."

Talk about wanting someone you can't have! This is one of the most heart-wrenching types of love stories. How can one hide and deny how they feel? I can't even hide my feelings for wanting snacks even though I shouldn't.

"I will wait.
I will crouch in the dark until the time is ripe, and I will eat Rajah Tarek alive."

Revenge comes at a cost. Take your time to ensure success. Kalinda is brave, strong, and her faith in her gods is the strongest. She doesn't question them, she does what is asked of her. There is a reason why the gods lead her to her path and she must serve them.

"I do not understand why the gods have made it so that every woman's lot in life is to owe her security to a man."

Things must change! Be the change Kalinda! Their world is a place I would not want to live in. Women who prefer to be courtesans of the Rajah because it is a better life than being in the streets. They don't care if any of the king's men would touch them because food and shelter is enough satisfaction. Women are treated this way even though they can fight as well as men.

I gave this 5 stars because it's just perfect. I was willing to give up sleep for this but my body gives in to rest. I need to rest to prepare for a tournament of my own. We are all champions as what Emily said in her acknowledgement. I wouldn't be surprised if this will be picked up as a movie because it is packed with action, blood, and tough girls. I am ready to start The Fire Queen now.

I liked it but didn't love it. The reason being is while there was a lot of action and romance something just seemed to be missing.

The Hundredth Queen is a fantastical journey of a young woman who went from nothing to a warrior in one fell swoop. It is in certain aspects another retelling of  1,001 nights. The amount of wives and tournament made it, it's own. The writing was easy but a bit too expected in parts. The story progression was good and I enjoyed the characters. 3 our of 5 stars.

It's just an okay book for me. The story was predictable and had been done many times, the Indian rep was not good but the magic and Bhuta story was interesting.

This was a solid first book in the series, the plot what slightly cliched but the world building was interesting. There is work to be done with this series, but it has potential to be something great

The Hundreth Queen is a fantasy story involving magic and the bonds of sisterhood.

I really liked the magic element of the story. I enjoyed the Bhutas and how they each specialize in powers. Also the history of them was also interesting. As we learn truths from lies.

The world is small. Mostly confined to the Palace. There is the traveling between the Sisterhood Samiya and the palace but I wouldn’t consider it vast. More of just a path. We don’t get a really idea of the outside kingdom. I thought the descriptions of things inside the palace were good though. I could form it in my mind.

I really loved the feeling of sisterhood. I loved the dedicated friendship between Kalinda and Jaya. Even some of the other girls who might not have always been on the best of terms with her. They all shared a bond. They often reference recapturing their history of warriors sisters.

I was not necessarily enthralled with the romance. I know there are many who do not enjoy instalove and I guess i would consider this in that vein. I was okay with Kalinda and her fascination with Deven. She had not really even seen a man before him. He was also kind and gentle to her on her travels. I almost might have rather seen her end up with Brac. Someone challenging. I was surprised how quickly Deven fell for her being that he talked about how being a loyal soldier is a part of who he is. Then suddenly it doesn’t matter anymore.

For some reason I often pick up on continuity breaks and so I was bother by Kalinda learning a secret and then being confronted by Lakia. Who talks to her as though she knows that she was learned the secret. There was no basis for her to know that and they both spoke of it too casually.
Then later she questions something that makes no sense for her to question, due to her knowing that same secret. It really annoyed me.

Overall it was an okay read. I enjoyed it but I wish some parts, like the romance had been a little bit more. I did really enjoy the magic of the Bhutas.

Very good read! I don't know what it about these kinds of books that intrigue me but I love reading them. Such wondrous and foreign scenery and culture that I find enthralling. This book immediately got me caught in its web. The main character, Kalinda is great. Strong and resourceful as she is set upon her quest, which is not by choice or die trying. I loved her from the very beginning. The story itself was full of action and adventure. I just couldn't put it down! Highly addicting.
This was such a great read and I'm looking forward to reading more!

An Advanced Reading Copy has been kindly given by Skyscape and Two Lions via Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest opinion

4 “fight for freedom” stars

Words of a cover junkie: I think the cover is just gorgeous! Seriously just take two minutes to admire it and tell me it’s not awesome. I could frame it and never tire of watching it.

Emily R King is a new author to me but after reading the enthusiastic reviews of other blogger friends I was really intrigued. I discovered a very talented author gifted with a vivid imagination able to create a refreshing story setting and great characters.

What is this book about?
Kalinda has always suffered from fevers. She is orphaned and raised among sisters teaching young girls and women the art of fighting. The monasteries are financed by benefactors who can claim some young women to become servants or wives.
In this world, all women exist to serve men. They don’t have a real choice as to who they could marry or what they could do with their lives. More than once in the story will Kalinda regret this lack of choice. Her dream is to be free to choose her own destiny.

Compared with her brethren Kalinda does not feel beautiful. She is taller than all the other girls and due to her illness did not learn to master her art as expertly as others
When a visitor (the Rhaja) comes to the Monastery he intends to claim a girl that will be the winner of the fights among all the girls. Kalinda never expects to be chosen and yet shockingly the Rhaja selects Kalinda to be his wife. One of her bullies Nastea will become a courtesan. Kalinda is heartbroken to leave her dear friend Jaya. She promises to go back one day and choose her as handmaiden.

This story takes an unexpected turn with the reveal of Kalinda being the hundredth wife and all that it entails. Traditionally the hundredth wife has to compete for her position but every wife and courtesan can fight in the hope to get a better status. This tournament is brutal and some women can die.

She is lost in this brutal palace and finds solace in the company of the handsome and righteous Captain Deven Naik. Romantic feelings will soon emerge but their love is forbidden and could put them both in mortal danger.

That’s all I’ll say as I don’t want to spoil the plot.

What I really liked:
√ I loved the choice or Emily R. King to portray her heroine as “plain” or rather different than others. Kalinda will have to make up in wit and intelligence what she lacks in training. She will never be conceited as she does not see herself as beautiful. She truly stands out. I love when heroine are far from perfect and have to work twice as hard to reach their goal. It’s inspiring.

√ Kalinda is like no other wife or courtesan. She does not want her position and it gives her courage to speak her mind to Rhaja Tarek. Once again the female character has her own mind and thinks out of the box what I did enjoy tremendously!

√ Kalinda was shocked with Rhaja Tarek’s attitude. Tarek is cruel and unfair as a ruler. He likes to witness the fights among his wives and courtesans. He does not care for them. They are just toys for his own pleasure and he shares his courtesans with others. Of course it’s inherently wrong to treat women as objects. She wants more for the other wives and courtesans. She wants to create bonds, some kind of sisterhood among women and stop the competitions. Again this is an inspiring message: unite rather than divide. Help each other.

In one word: freedom. Kalinda wanted to make her own choices. Forge her own destiny. That’s what I loved about all else in this book.

What I did not like so much:
√ Deven indecisiveness. I get that he wanted to do the right thing. I get he thought about others and the kingdom before his needs and wants. It can be admirable except… when he gets hot then cold. When he says he’ll let everything go for her and then make a 180° turn. I do prefer my male characters to be ready to sacrifice everything for their sweetheart even if I know that in real life it does not always work like that. But that’s exactly why I love reading: I escape reality and can live in a fantasy world of my own taste.

Between forbidden love, conspiracy, sabotage from rival women and shocking truth about Kalinda’s past and her sickness this book has really been captivating.
Emily R King has a beautiful writing and sucked me in her world filled with Queens, saris, demons, cruel Rhajas, handsome and fierce captains. A world where little girls are raised to become trained fighters and yet can only exists thanks to men.

It was an enjoyable read, with a tough, yet sweet, heroine that was fun to follow. While it wasn't the tightest read, it was fast-paced and easy to finish. It reminded me a bit of the Wrath & Dawn series, yet for me it wasn't on par with that specific series, but again, a good book to curl up with for a quick read. I would read other books by Emily King for sure.

I just don't feel much about this book. I generally liked it, but disliked so much about it.
The romance was, in my opinion, based on nothing and rubbed me the wrong way the whole book. Especially since the penalty for Kali and Deven touching or someone even thinking they were too close was death, they took really dumb, reckless risks.
There was a good amount of action between the ranking tournament and the antics at the end. The magical element was pretty good as well. Learning it's origin and what peoples' skills were.
I'd have to say my biggest dislike, sadly, was the main character, Kali. She was always talking about how ordinary and basic she was and I just wished she would've had some more self-confidence. I was actually wishing I'd learned more about her best friend because that girl seemed like she was made from tougher stock.
So overall, an ok read. I highly doubt I'll continue the series, although there was a cliffhanger at the end of this book.

I. JUST. CAN'T. I hate DNFing an ARC, but no thanks.

I gave this a solid shot, and by 73% I am baffled by the lack of romantic development, despite there being a huge romantic element. I get instant attraction, but really? instant attraction to the first man you've seen, and despite the ramifications of possible <b>DEATH</b> you risk your life and their's for someone you hardly know?

You also hate someone for something you have been groomed for for your entire life? I mean, I get the girls wanting some kind of personal freedom. But honestly, having had only known one kind of life..you think that they would have been a little bit more accepting and honored on how their life is leading.

I'm sorry I just feel like the romance is hurried and there for has ruined the book. I like the idea of this magical element that can essentially destroy you if it's not properly honed. I also loved that even though said magical element is news to our character, that she's not just like magically all powerful and bad ass. The problem for me is, I hope they get caught and are killed even if the benefactor is a little gross, and I don't think you're supposed to feel about the main character like that.

“Let the sky lead me, the land ground me, the fire cleanse me, and the water feed me.”

The Hundredth Queen is an imaginative fantasy that blends beautiful imagery and persistent characters. We follow Kalinda, an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, as she’s chosen to be the hundredth queen for the tyrant Rajah Tarek. Kali must fight for her place in the palace, while hiding a dangerous secret about herself. The Hundredth Queen is filled with mystery, romance, and a beautifully imagined world of power, control, and retribution.

Things I Liked :
Kali was a pretty solid main character. I love that she was inquisitive and hard working, determined to better herself and dedicated to the values of the Sisterhood. She tries to take all the agency she can in this heavily patriarchal society. Though she is naive and rash, she fights for her beliefs and those she loves, and that is always admirable.

I absolutely loved everything about the Bhutas. They were my favorite part of the story. I’m a sucker for elemental magic and I loved the power displays and the history they brought to the story. Bhutas >>>>>>.

I really loved the imagery in the story. Everything felt very vivid and clear, it made it super easy to become enveloped and invested in this world.

Things I Didn’t Like :
Even though this story is clearly a fantasy novel, it was hard for me to not connect the fantasy setting to the real-world influences. It made the setting feel just slightly off, and not quite as distinct as I would have liked.

I’m not usually an insta-love hater. I understand it’s place in the story and can usually get behind it, or at least be okay with it because I understand it’s purpose. However, this was a little heavy on the insta-love. It was a little too much, a little too quickly. I like the relationship that develops between Kali and Deven, but the start was a little rushed for me personally.

While I loved the imagery, and it captivated me enough to become invested in the world, I would have liked some more information and more world building. Kali and others constantly mention the 5 godly virtues, but they are never mentioned all at once (and if they are I missed it – sorry). It would have been nice to establish the culture and religion more, so I could connect this with the world the characters live in. I felt like the actual tournament provided good action, but we only really knew 3 of the girls competing so the deaths held little impact, besides fueling Kali’s anger. I also felt like Kali really didn’t have enough time to learn/practice her powers. For the book to focus on her trying to understand what powers she possess, and what she’s capable, we really didn’t get to see her explore them much at all.

I felt like most of the side characters were not really developed outside of their relationship to Kali. I understand this is her story, but the other characters really just felt like they were along for her story, they didn’t have much on their own.

The Hundredth Queen is a solid fantasy story, that brilliantly sets up it’s sequel The Fire Queen, to have more action, more challenges, and more powers. This is a richly imagined story with fantastic fantastic magic wielders and slightly weak characters and world building. The Hundredth Queen is a good story, with an even more promising future.

❝ Anything can be changed by those who have the courage to blaze their own path.❞

This book was easily one of the top 5 favorite books I've read this year. Because if you wanted some badass women, you got them. In Kalinda's world, women take pride in learning how to fight as a sign of their devotion to their deities.

Kalinda and her best friend, Jaya, have made plans all their life to stick together, but things don't go according to plan when an unexpected benefactor shows up to temple for a Claiming.

One of the biggest strengths of this book was the worldbuilding. There was an array of Gods and Goddess, different stories for them, virtues, prayers, traditions. I liked all the detail and thought that went into creating this world establishing their faith-based system.

Besides having a rich story, the characters were another bright spot. I felt connected to more than a few characters. Even characters I disliked I was able to understand even if I couldn't like them for what they were. They were well written and that's always something I can appreciate. In particular, I strongly disliked Tarek for all the sick things he did (and had others do), but I liked his twisted sense of love and devotion as his inner motivation.

❝ Not all women have my temper, Captain.

"Not all women wear it as well as you do Kalinda.❞

Kalinda was admirable for wanting to protect others, especially if they couldn't defend themselves. She was just and fair, and more than a little spirited, but I loved her for her kindness.

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the magic. Even though the powers based on the traditional four elements is a bit overused I liked the way that Burner's (fire users) powers were applied.

I have to say, however, that I was not really invested in the romance in this book. It seemed a little forced and kind of sudden. I might have been behind it more had it been built up a little slower throughout the book. It felt like insta-love, especially because the characters admitted to falling for one another at first glance. There didn't seem to be a strong emotional connection between them as much as there was a physical attraction.

Overall, I have to say that this book was really great. It sucked me in from the very start. I'm really looking forward to following the rest of the series!

This book was okay. Neither entirely amazing, nor completely boring. It was just meh. Khalinda, annoyed me frequently. Yet, I loved her dedication to Jaya and the ways of the sisterhood. I also liked her obliviousness to the world outside the Temple and reading her grow to understand the ways in which the world of men worked. Yet, she was a tad bit too hot-headed for me. She never really took the proper time to think things through.
I really enjoyed the strong relationships between women in the book. Khalinda and Jaya in particular who were very much connected. There are more female relationships that Khalinda obtains throughout the course of the story, each one unique and different. I really liked how the author used this as a way to resolve the conflicts instead of making them the conflict.
One of the reasons I didn’t love this novel is because I found the characters so vague. There was nothing about them that really stood out to me.
Nothing blew me away. It was an action filled book but I was never invested enough with the characters to truly feel something. This story was not bad. I liked the plot, the events but…it just…nothing.