The Hundredth Queen has an interesting world development and a heroine who doesn't back down. Kali has suffered from fevers and never expects to be Claimed, but when she is thrown into the court of the rajah, she makes sure to fight for herself. She's a strong lead who knows her heart. The romance was a little difficult to get into; there's not quite enough development of their relationship for their interactions to feel completely authentic. However, I am looking forward to seeing that relationship grow more.

****Big thank you to Skyscape and Amazon Publishing for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review****

Wow, let me just say I am pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up enjoying this book! It has every element I love in a YA fantasy and I honestly cannot wait for the rest of the series now!

The Plot

Of course it’s easy to think with the description of this book that it would be something similar to “The Wrath & The Dawn” or even “The Star-Touched Queen” and while there are some similarities it’s still very unique. I would still say that if you were a fan of either you will probably enjoy “The Hundredth Queen” as well!

I really enjoyed the world building a lot, I liked how every aspect of the lore we were introduced to was incorporated into the plot. I also never felt overwhelmed or confused when information on the world was provided, no info-dumps here! The mythology was probably my favorite part about this story since it ended up playing a major part and was just so fascinating to learn about.

I found the magic system to be pretty unique and actually reminded me a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender since each element is represented, that’s probably why I loved it so much……

While the pacing wasn’t necessarily slow in the beginning it was a little bit harder for me to get into since there was a bit of insta-love that really put me off. However, once I got a little bit further in I was completely engrossed in this story! There were many twists and turns that I honestly did not see coming and I felt like there was definitely plenty of action and fast pacing to keep me turning pages.

The rank tournaments themselves were actually pretty brutal too, there definitely wasn’t any sugar-coating this aspect of the story which I liked since I feel YA authors always try to get out of or gloss over any sort of violence in their novels. Not that I’m some blood-thirsty, horrible person! It’s just I get tired of books promising fights to the death and then not delivering.

I also liked the way females were represented in the story as well as female relationships. There is a bit of girl-on-girl hate at the beginning of the story but I promise you it isn’t what it seems as it changes as the story progresses. I appreciated how the author would point out the wrongness of the way women were treated and how they sometimes treated each other in this world as well and how our heroine, Kalinda, also frowned upon any negative treatment of women and would intervene. The women in this story are honestly total badasses and I loved it! Although I will say I wish the few positive relationships between females would have been shown a lot more.

I was also really impressed with the writing and it was hard to believe this was a debut novel, everything flowed so well! Simple and easy to read overall, which sometimes is just perfect.

The Characters

The characters in this book were actually very enjoyable, all of them! Once again, I was pretty surprised by how well I thought a lot of them developed and the levels of complexity a few of them had. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with these characters but I love to be proved wrong in this case!

Kalinda was the perfect protagonist, in my opinion. She was brave and loyal but also had her moments where her courage would fail her, she wasn’t perfect. I also really liked how she wasn’t some “super skilled special snowflake” (that’s a bit of a tongue twister, huh?), she had skill but she definitely wasn’t as skilled as lot of the other characters. I think maybe the best word to describe how I felt about Kalinda’s character was “heart-warming” because everything she did, said, or felt just gave me tingles because she was just so realistic and down to earth!

The secondary characters were all well done too, I felt like I knew so many of them even though they were only around for a few sentences! I loved how many were also not just by-standers and we got to see so many of them grow and develop throughout the story.

As I mentioned earlier I really liked all of the female relationships in this book but especially the friendship between Kalinda and Jaya. Honestly, I wished there was more shown between those two because I feel YA could really use more positive female friendships like this one!

The Romance

The only real problem I had with the romance was that there was some heavy insta-love at the beginning but overall I did like it and felt that Kalinda and Deven made a great couple. Was it anything super special or impressive? No, not really but like I said I did enjoy it so that’s all that really matters.

Plus it doesn’t hurt that Deven is a pretty swoon-worthy love interest. He treated Kalinda right and I’m all for a good guy love interest!

In Conclusion

What I Loved:

-The world building and mythology
-Kalinda was a great female protagonist
-The writing flowed well and was easy to follow
-The plot was fast-paced, action-packed, with plenty of twists
-Kalinda and Jaya’s friendship

What I Didn’t Love:

-There was some girl-on-girl hate (which is never okay although in this story it was overcome)
-Insta-love relationship (even though I did come to like them together)
-I wish Kalinda and Jaya’s friendship would have been shown a lot more and maybe some more of the female relationships as well

Recommend?

I definitely recommend checking this book out especially if you’re looking for something a little similar to “The Wrath & The Dawn”!

*HUGE thanks to Skyscape, Netgalley & Emily R. King for the eGalley copy of The Hundredth Queen

PLOT

The Hundredth Queen centers around Kalinda who was really trying to live a low key life in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple where she’s lived all her life as a orphan. Prone to strange fevers, Kalinda isn’t able to train as the other sisters do in the ways of the sister warrior Ki. Spending her days sketching or in the infirmary is what she is used to. Due to her sickness, she isn’t the strongest or what they’d consider the prettiest either. A moment of righteousness shines a spotlight on her placing her on Rajah Tarek’s path. She is selected as his One Hundredth Queen & yanked out of the one true home she ever knew. Taken to the palace as a wife is considered by many in the Sisterhood to be a privilege and a honor. Rajah Tarek has wives & consorts all living in the palace separated by position (wives vs. consorts) but the One Hundredth Queen holds a very special place. See, the One hundredth has the luck of being open to challenges. Any consort may challenge Kalinda for her position in the tournaments held whenever the Rajah brings a new wife to the palace. The difference here is that since she will be his last wife, it will also be the tournament to end all tournaments. This would be the only opportunity for any of the courtesans to knock Kalinda off her highly esteemed position. From the moment she enters the palace walls, all eyes are on her and she is sized up for some as competition and others a threat. Kalinda may not be the strongest however, deep within her she holds a power that is old and unknown to her. The underlying emphasis placed on friendships between women was one of my favorite aspects of this book. The Hundredth Queen is filled with lush world building, action, cunning, betrayal, and plenty of curve balls you won’t see coming.

CHARACTERS

The characters in The Hundredth Queen are primarily female, we first get introduced to Kalinda’s best friend Jaya. the friendship between this two was more akin to blood sisters than friends & it was refreshing to see them look out for one another. Once selected as the one hundredth, she is escorted by the Rajah’s captain of the guards, Deven. This character serves as a love interest to Kalinda & I must admit he fell a bit lack luster to me lol but to others he may be swoon worthy ;) he did manage to grow on me but that was more towards the final chapters. Once in the palace where the Rajah’s wives & courtesans live, we meet some very interesting women to keep an eye on. Starting with the one to fear the most. the Rajah’s Kindred aka 1st wife. She is not playing nice & throughout the book Kalinda must watch her back at all times. The Rajah himself is a worm! baha! I knew I wouldn’t like him the minute i read the Goodreads blurb. The man is a polygamist who has some deep rooted issues with women & there were plenty of times I wanted to square off with him lol. I was left very intrigued by Deven’s brother who shares the same powers as Kalinda (shhhh secret!) and others like them introduced towards the end. I’m hoping to get to know them better in the next book, also Deven’s brother was way more alluring to me jeje. The characters are not the most fleshed out you’ll come across in Fantasy seeing as this one is more plot driven, but they do let you get to know them just enough to want to know more.

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall The Hundredth Queen is filled with the magic and fantasy it promises in the blurb. I did wonder when I started reading whether this was truly YA considering it’s a story about a polygamist tyrant. Although there weren’t any sexual scenes depicted, it was implied given the nature of this book. I was honestly swept away by the story itself that my loathing for the Rajah was ever present but it didn’t prove to be an obstacle in my enjoyment of this story. I do wish Kalinda as a character was a bit more fleshed out but there’s plenty of implied growth for the sequel that I’m looking forward to. In regards to the world building, I am aware that there’s some buzz on the author’s inspiration. King does preface the book with a Author’s Note that briefly stated the following:

“The religion of the Tarachand Empire, the Parijana faith, is a fictional variation derived from Sumerian deities. However the Parjina faith and the Tarachand Empire do not directly represent any specific historical time period, creed , or union. Any other religious or governmental similarities are coincidental and do not depict actual people or events”

To be honest, it didn’t seem like any one particular culture/religion rather bits and pieces gathered to create this fantasy setting. I’ve made my rounds reading reviews & looking out for solid issues found within this book & I have not yet found one. On the contrary, I have seen readers who are cautious & insightful when reading/reviewing diverse books, give The Hundredth Queen the green light of approval. I may be wrong, and if there are any solid reviews out there providing insight, I’ll def read them. For now, I’ll sign off by saying that I look forward to Kalinda’s continued adventures in the sequel The Fire Queen ;)

Have you read The Hundredth Queen? Isn’t the cover gorgeous?!? have you seen the cover for the sequel?!?! *heart eyes*

I'd come across this novel on twitter, mostly because of the cover. I thought it was really pretty and the book sounded interesting. I requested it from the publishers and they provided me with an e-arc through netgalley. I was pretty excited to have been approved, but then as I started to read the book -- I realized I didn't like it. I appreciate the publishers approving me, but I guess this one just wasn't for me.

One, the writing isn't really all that fantastic, but I was like that's alright. It's just a debut novel. Nobody's perfect with their debut novel. And then there was insta-love, and if you've been following my blog you know how much I cannot stand this trope. However these two things weren't made me go "maybe I shouldn't be continuing this."

I came across a few threads on twitter and since I don't have the place to really speak on the matter of the representation, these three expressed how they felt more than I can explain in words:

https://twitter.com/KailiaSage/status...


https://twitter.com/thedimishra/statu...


https://twitter.com/kitakar/status/86...

As you can see from a couple of different voices on twitter, of people who are hurt - perhaps The Hundredth Queen isn't the best novel for representation of this culture.

I won't say anymore on the subject other than again thank you to the publishers, but I'd rather not finish due to what's said in the tweets above, and the fact the story isn't all that engaging either. I tried but I just had to pass.

I fell into The Hundredth Queen like a soft bed.

As soon as I started reading, I wanted to stay. In fact, I knew this book would get five stars from me on chapter six. Not much had happened yet, but I was already in love with Emily R. King's writing style. It's effortless, but vivid enough that I was pulled into Kali's world immediately. Everything was vivid without over-writing, and the characters -- oh, the characters.

All of the characters -- not just Kali, the leading lady -- are fully fleshed out. They have their own hopes, dreams, ambitions... They are real people. They all have flaws, and they all have reasons to be the way they are. No one in The Hundredth Queen is evil just "because."

This is a fantasy series, but you couldn't really tell until chapter eight. I actually loved that -- King doesn't hit you over the head with the magic system immediately. She gives you time to warm to the characters and the world, to forget you're reading a fantasy, to see the characters as people... and then she introduces it in the form of conflict, which I also loved. It was a simple, yet effective, way of pulling back the veil.

Speaking of which: King writes in first person, through Kali. She does a wonderful job of using this as a plot device by making sure that we as readers only know as much as Kali does. This way, plot twists stay secret and other characters' intentions retain an air of mystery. King didn't overdo the use of "I," either, which gives the (correct, in my opinion) impression that Kali isn't very self-centered. I actually had to double-check that The Hundredth Queen was written in first-person, because I didn't remember Kali talking about herself very often. She doesn't constantly have an internal monologue, like some first-person characters, and doesn't constantly talk about herself. It's a very precarious balance, but King struck it.

Also, King's writing moved me to tears a couple of times. It even made me sick to my stomach during the more intense, anxiety-inducing scenes. Usually, writing doesn't affect me like that -- I get lost in the world and become sort of detached from my emotions. But this writing pierced through me. I love it, but I hate it, because I just want to keep reading this series forever.

Lucky for me, I have an ARC of book two, The Fire Queen, too. Unlucky for me, I have to read a few other ARCs before I can get to it. We'll see if I have the self-control to stick to that.

As soon as I saw the summary for The Hundredth Queen, I wanted to read it. It was a different book than I expected but I still ended up enjoying it. The world that Emily R. King created was both beautiful and brutal. The characters and plot were intriguing. I will definitely be reading the sequel.

Kalinda was a mostly wonderful main character. An orphan, she grew up in one of the the Sisterhood's temples, training in the art of combat. I loved her friendship with her best friend and how she attempted to stay true to their dreams of the future. One thing I didn't like about Kalinda is that she sometimes looked down on other women for their choices. However, she also drew attention to the fact that the women shouldn't hate and fight each other but rather the culture the Rajah has forced them into. It was slightly confusing but I did appreciate how the author dealt with the poor treatment of women in this world. I'm very intrigued to see how she'll develop this theme in the next book.

The plot was generally interesting and the pacing was good. I remained engaged and interested throughout the entire book. The world was fantastic, beautiful, and deadly. I loved how the author brought it to life so vividly. There were a few things that could have used further development (such as the magic system and some of the history) but they were relatively minor. The rank battles between the women, both in the arena and out of it, were brutal and the author pulled no punches in her descriptions. I liked how the author slowly revealed one secret, setting the stage for a sequel that promises to be even better than this one.

The romance was a bit too insta-lovey for me, although I could see the appeal of the love interest. However, neither of the characters acted rationally or really thought of the consequences of their actions before diving headfirst into the relationship. I wish that we had gotten more scenes of their relationship slowly developing so I could better understand the attraction between them.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend to fans of YA fantasy/romance.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. Most of it was due to the writing--it was flat and didn't seem very interesting, even in later parts of the book. The way it came off made the characters, the events, and the rest of the plot come off as dull and boring.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review, thank you to the publisher

GUYS!!!! I am not sure how I am going to recover from this, if you at look my Twitter page I am still emotionally a mesh *sighs* I am such a mess for so many reasons, this book gave me everything that I didn't know I wanted; love, romance, hope, friendship, bravery, a badass heroine, cute hot guys! How does one recover from such awesomeness???? *sobbing*

I can't go on, no Elsa I can't just let it go

Kalinda has no idea who her parents are, brought up in the sisterhood in the Samiya temple. She is shown to have fevers for quite a long time until Healer Bala found a tonic that seems to keep them at bay. Recovering a little, Kali tries to catch up on her fighting skills (she is considered the weak one) with Jaya. Unknown to her, someone very important comes to claim one of the girls from the sisterhood, for others this may be good news but these two best friends don't want to be separated. Kali and Natesa both get claimed. Kali is supposed to be the embodiment of the land goddess, Ki in the form of Enlil's hundredth rani. Things get really interesting when the tournaments begins, Kali has to defend the Rajah's throne as she is his 'champion'. Will Kali defeat her opponents especially Lakia and become rani?

You know what I most loved about this book? Captain Naik A.K.A Deven, he is sooooo dreamy. Oh gosh, I wish he was real I would marry him. He is just soo sweet and selfless. He supports Kali 100% even if it is something that he doesn't agree on, for them there is only each other no one else.

Kali is brave, fierce, incredibly loyal and not afraid to do what she think is right. I loved her more every moment she saw something cruel happening and stood up for justice whether that was for herself or someone else, she is truly a hero!

I haven't read much books about the Indian culture (which I think it is) but I loved every moment of this book and what it symbolised. Reading the very first sentence just left me wanting more, it was very hard to put the book down. I just kept telling myself 'one more chapter' and before you know it I finished the book. Even now I am like what am I meant to do now? I don't want to read any other book I want book 2! You can't just end the book like that Emily! WHY ARE YOU TORTURING ME!

*GOOD NEWS* I just saw the second book will be releasing in September! Yes I don't have to wait long for #kalen

Such a compelling read that I had to finish it in a day. I couldn’t get myself to put it down for very long! It was also refreshing to visit a different culture than that of European origin or inspiration. I love fantasy books that use knights and dragons and lush forests, but it’s also fun to visit the desert. Drawing on Sumerian mythology and desert nation cultures, King did a great job of blending magic and intrigue into a maturation and finding-self tale.

There were some very uncomfortable sexism “policies” in this world. The whole Claiming process where men who give money to the temples get their pick of the young women who make their home there was infuriating, especially when we discover why that practice is in place. It was also frustrating that the main characters all took it for granted, that these “policies” were ancient and always in place. It didn’t help that that’s what they were taught. I do think the author did a great job addressing the issue though by weaving it into the text and made the reveals later in the narrative that much more alarming.
Speaking of emotions, King hit the full range throughout the story. Pain, sadness, despair, courage, delight, lust, fear. They were all here and portrayed in a very realistic way. Overall, this was a spectacular first book in a series, and I can’t wait to read book 2, out this September. Hooray for short waiting periods 🙂
The Fire Queen (The Hundredth Queen, #2)

I heard a lot of great things about this book prior to reading and so I was expecting a bit too much from it, I think. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend The Hundredth Queen to any YA fantasy fans out there, but it didn't completely WOW me like I had expected it to.

Kalinda has been sheltered her entire life and now, at eighteen, must fight for that life in order to wed Rajah Tarek who she neither loves or feels any fondness for. But in this world women must rely completely on men to have any sort of peace or safety. It's not a fun time if you're a woman and I think King tackled that well in terms of showing that this idea is wrong and that women have as much to offer the world as men.

I liked Kali's character but I don't think I ever fully connected with her, as though I was reading about this person from a far-off time and while some of the emotions came through, I wasn't immersed. She's a strong heroine and has several facets to her background that are slowly unraveled over the course of the book. I love her friendship with Jaya, something formed over time prior to the story's beginning and an element that continues to push through the plot and drive some of her major decisions. On the other hand, I wasn't big on the romance between her and Deven. I never felt there was any sort of bond formed there other than a bit of lust so it seemed unnecessary. Looking at Kali as a whole, I liked her but she was a bit bland.

The same could be said for the other characters, including the more prominent ones like Deven. But I did like his character, much like I liked Kali's but didn't love it. He and the other guards stand out from the other men in the story by being respectful of the many female characters, further showing the dynamics of this world but also correcting the wrongness of that more close-minded way of thinking.

You see that same kind of "correcting" in the tournament Kali must participate in to secure her spot as the rajah's final bride. The wives must fight and kill each other to advance their ranks but still remain beneath the thumb of their husband or owner. It's a harsh system but I loved the way Kali fights against the way things are because she recognizes that they don't have to remain that way, and that just because something works doesn't make it right.

There were some points in the story that I think were omitted without real purpose (i.e. a character not revealing a secret to another, etc) which struck me as off, for lack of a better word. But, overall, I think the plot was pretty solid. It moves at a decent pace though I didn't have trouble setting the book down. I loved the way the world was described, the magic, the politics, and the society. The last part, especially, rang through the entire book in the way that Kali thought and acted, how the characters around her interacted, and so on. This world's culture was clearly established through the smaller details which was much more enjoyable than reading info dumps (which were small, and few and far between).

The Hundredth Queen fits in that space between books like Falling Kingdoms and Wintersong, creating enough action to keep you reading while delving into beautiful world-building that I'm excited to see more of in the sequel. Though not an absolute standout, this book was certainly enjoyable and I'm eager to read more in this world as any of the author's future works.

With that gorgeous cover and amazing reviews I was really excited when I got a copy of this. I went into this book not knowing much so when I started it I was afraid it was going to be too similar to Wrath and the Dawn. However despite it similarites it had some unique elements. For one the Rajah doesnt kill his wives he makes them do it themselves in a rank tournament where each time he chooses a new bride she has to fight all of the Rajahs courtesans who wish to take her place.

The rank fighting is looked down upon by the main character Kali so I didnt enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. In a sense it was nice to have a main character point out the wrongness of girl on girl hate and value the importance of sisterhood. Most if not all of the Rajas wives have been trained to fight by the Sisters at the Temple which is where we first meet Kali. All she ever wanted was get passed over at the Claiming and join the Sisterhood with her friend but her plans are derailed when the Rajah comes to claim his hundredth wife. I loved Kalis relationship with her best friend but I wanted more of it.

I loved how they travelled using elephants and the way the elemental magic worked. I enjoyed the mythology and the setting. I dont think Ive ever read about a romantic interest who wears a turban. I dont know much about that custom but I appreciated the diversity. I felt like the romance happened a little too fast given the fact that shes promised to another and that can get them killed but I loved how the romantic interest wasnt a bad boy. He was actually a good person who respects women so in the end I was rooting for them.

The way women were treated bothered me but I appreciated how the authors calls attention to the wrongness of it. The Rajahs first wife was the antagonist that stuck with me the most emotionally but I didnt understand some of her decisions. There were a couple other interesting antagonists like the General and obviously the Rajah but some of their decisions didnt add up. Overall the writing was easy to fall into and I liked how things ended. It left me feeling satisfied but still looking forward to the sequel.

Spoilers Ahead

*************

I didnt understand why she betrayed her sister if she wanted to be the Rajahs only wife why not let her sister run away. The reasoning that her sister was carrying the Rhajas heir doesnt make sense since she wants to kill the heir now. The generals claiming Kalis best friend as punishment didnt make sense since she confronted him after he came back from the Sisterhood. I also dont understand why the Healer wasnt honest with her. Not knowing could seriously put her life in danger. Sadly I was able to predict the major twist early on in the book but I didnt expect all the death which made the story that much more gripping.

Post name:The Hundredth Queen Review
Published:May 1st
Blog:https://bookishdiana.wordpress.com/


THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER WHO PROVIDED A COPY, ALL MY OPINIONS ARE , MINE THOUGH.

"Snowy mountains tear into the ashen sky, their jagged peaks pearly, like wolverine fangs."

So okay this book was so fun, I loved the writing and pretty much everything about expect one thing(Whispering)............ There may or may not have insta-love (Oh no). But its really not that noticeable, if you want me to be honest.

So I'll totally be reading the next book, i'm unsure if this is a trilogy or duology. I loved the whole heme of friendships and sisterhood throughout the book

I loved all the characters, they were extremely well written and I hope they are further devolved in the sequel.

I really like Kali, she took a bit to adjusting to, but she was reasonable which I liked. I also loved Deven was also really great.
I also want to congratulate the author because she actually wrote a male love interest that was kind and good hearted( I 'm a huge lover of the good guy love interest.)

I loved the whole concept about the hundred wives it was extremely interesting and well developed.

I also got to say I didn't expect that twist let me just say I was startled and surprised by that twist.

I totally recommend this book to everyone, it was such a fun read.

BUY: Amazon



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily R. King is a reader of everything and a writer of fantasy. Born in Canada and raised in the USA, she has perfected the use of “eh” and “y’all” and uses both interchangeably. Shark advocate, consumer of gummy bears, and islander at heart, Emily’s greatest interests are her four children. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an active participant in her local writers’ community. She lives in Northern Utah with her family and their cantankerous cat.

This book was so much fun and emotionally draining. It has you on the edge of your seat for most of it and it was exciting getting to watch all the twists reveal themselves. I can't wait for the next installments!