I loved this book!

I am a big fan of fantasy and dystopian fiction. In a way, this makes me biased, but on the other hand I am more critical because I've read a LOT of it.

First, I loved the world building. I could picture the city and the people.
I loved the writing style and was drawn in from the start.
I loved the twists and turns.
I loved how the main character was a strong female lead and not a door mat.
I loved how this wasn't "typical" - there was no romance (especially the instant romance with the prince or her bodyguard... I mean, seriously). There was also no cliffhanger, which I thought was great. However, it wrapped things up so nicely it didn't leave a lot of room for more stories with these character, and I would really enjoy visiting this world again.

Thank you to the publisher and #netgalley for the advance copy. This did not impact my review (trust me - you should SEE some of my reviews..)

This is an outstanding YA fantasy that does not appear to be part of a series, how refreshing. In the city of Seriden there are three kind of people, the citizens: Royals and Legals, and the non-citizens: the Nameless. The Nameless have no homes, legal standing, laws, property, etc. The Royal Crown is passed down by in the form of a magic tattoo when the dying monarch says the name of the next ruler, the tattoo appears on the arm of the new monarch. Only this time, it appears on the arm of the Nameless girl called "Coin" which isn't supposed to be possible, and turns Seriden society on it's ear, and makes life for Coin very very dangerous.
Fast moving and filled with engaging characters (and must give some credit to the street urchins of Oliver Twist), the world building is fairly well thought out, though the rules of magic aspects get a bit befuddled from time to time. At first the plot seems to aim toward wish-fulfillment (street urchin gains power), but then things get more twisty and complex for a more satisfying story and denouement. Lots of fun. Highly recommend.

As much as I wanted to like this story, I feel like the concept was not executed very well. Ms. McLaughlin clearly is good at world-building, but there wasn't enough forward momentum to keep me interested. Yes, I cared about the protagonist, but her lack of enthusiasm with her newfound title wasn't very entertaining. DNF.

I had very mixed feelings about this story in the beginning. A lot of questions about the plot that weren’t explained (like how Coin got so adept so quickly with the newly acquired gifts she takes in stride). They weren’t all answered (my biggest ones are here: how she appeared nameless when she was given a name; is it not knowing your name that makes you Nameless? Even if you’ve been given a name and some know it? And why do people not give names when their children are born? How is the governing of name bestowing done?). I did think that around halfway through, the events had fewer points where I questioned how realistic they were in the lives of the characters. I think the ending rounded things out nicely, especially the peaceful resolution of the army situation and and the visions of the future that negate the need for an epilogue.

I could so relate to the themes in this book having felt myself during high school I was bridging many worlds. Of course everything is better with magic. Entertaining easy read. I feel like I need more though.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title Nameless Queen

Author Rebecca McLaughlin

Description from Amazon

Everyone expected the king’s daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me.

It shouldn’t be possible. I’m Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don’t even get names. Dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care.

But there’s no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous than the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don’t?

Release Date January 7, 2020

Initial Thoughts

This book was on my radar for a while, the premise seemed interesting and I really liked the idea of a main character with no name. As you know well by now, I am striving to read everything in my NetGalley queue before the end of 2019 so I can start fresh in 2020.

Some Things I Liked

World building and magic. I really liked the unique world building and the magic system created in this book. It can be difficult to create magic that only one character can use without it “solving all problems all the time” and I think Rebecca McLaughlin achieved that balance. Coin had magic where others did not, but she was not all-powerful or invincible because of it.
Family ties. I loved that a huge portion of this story was about Coin finding herself as well as finding her family. Family doesn’t always mean blood-relatives and I loved the process of how Coin discovered that.

Something I Wasn’t Crazy About

No romance. I’m ok with no romance in stories (take my obsession with the Scythe series by Neal Shusterman), but here, I really missed it. I thought a romance for Coin would have been an interesting way to explore her character as well as a way to round out her identity. One of the main plot points is Coin finding her place in the world (given that she doesn’t even know her own name) and I thought creating more relationships would have given the reader a better sense of who she is.

Series Value

This book is not cited as a series, but, I would like to know more about the characters and world Rebecca McLaughlin created. There are several other cities mentioned as well as a somewhat uncertain future laid out that I think sequel novels could be built upon. I would read another installment of this series either in the form of a direct sequel or a spin-off.

Final Thoughts

I liked this story. I think it has good bones. Good world building, solid characters, unique magic. But, for me, it was missing something. A romance sub-plot would have been nice, but, that aside, I still thought there was something missing. If this story gets a sequel, I can easily see myself revising my rating. But, for now, this was a solid three star read for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke – if you liked the idea of an underdog character becoming a hero, put this upcoming release on your TBR.
Frostblood by Elly Blake – if you liked the mystery around the main character’s identity mixed with elements of revolution and magic, try this series by Elly Blake.

12.18. - 12.27.2019
DNF @25%
ZERO STARS

I got this thinking it would be a great read and something I could buy for my niece when it was released; unfortunately, that is not to be.
THIS had the potential to be good [the first chapter was very good], but unfortunately after the first chapter, it just goes downhill and becomes even more unbelievable [the main character can do everything instantly and doesn't seem to have consequences to her actions, even when they are ridiculous], even for the fantasy genre and I was unable to finish this [I TRIED to get to 100 pages, but I just could not]. What a huge disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Crown Books for Young Readers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 48%

This book started out promising but I'm 48% into the book and I still don't understand much about this world. I don't have a connection to the main character and unfortunately, I'm not really interested to find out what happens next.

Nameless Queen is Rebecca McLaughlin's debut novel about a Nameless girl made queen in a country where being Nameless is the worst thing you can be. Royals and Legals have rights, but being Nameless means you have none at all. So when the king dies and leaves Coin his heir, all hell breaks loose. The book has everything I love most: magic, action, adventure, and a kickass heroine.



Coin is amazing. She is rough and tumble, clever and quick. She can hold her own against the best, even her Royal Council. In fact, I think I want to be her when I grow up. She is surrounded by people who would rather see her dead than on the throne but she refuses to be intimidated.



I love Rebecca's world-building and her characters are real, fully fleshed out human beings with human emotions. I truly hope we see a sequel to this because there are so many more adventures to be had by Coin and company!



It's being released next week - January 7, 2020. Go buy it right now!

Sadly, Nameless Queen was not a good fit for me. I loved the overall premise but had difficulty connecting with Coin, the main character. I love an underdog character who has to fight and struggle to overcome the odds against them, but things just seemed to come way too easily for Coin, especially as it pertained to almost immediately figuring out what it entails to be a Queen as well as the immediate mastering of brand new powers. That made the story feel unrealistic to me and thus hard to get into. I'm sure the book's target audience will love Coin's story but it just wasn't for me.

The debut young adult fantasy book, Nameless Queen, by Rebecca McLaughlin takes us to a dystopian society where you are either a Royal, a Legal, or Nameless. The Nameless are the lowest class of citizens, with no homes, no laws, and no names. They are the thieves of society...Coin, Hat, Devil....the list goes on, and many are disappearing. When the King dies, he says the name of his predecessor. The predecessor is emblazoned with a crown tattoo, full of magic! When the future Queen comes forward...she must prove she is worthy of the throne, especially because she is Nameless.

Whoa...I loved this book. I admit, I love all things Queen and I was not disappointed. The characters are so well defined within their social class, Coin...the main Nameless character is strong, smart, and surprisingly caring. She is the underdog from the start and has to prove herself around every turn, and you find yourself rooting for her along the way.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Crown Books and Rebecca McLaughlin for an advanced reader edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a must read for 2020! It is suitable for all readers who enjoy fantasy with a royal twist of dystopia. I would absolutely recommend this book and look forward to other books by Ms McLaughin in the future.

Our main character, who goes by ‘Coin,’ is truly a Nameless Queen; the three classes of people in Rebecca McLaughlin’s fantasy novel are Royals, Legals, and the Nameless. Upon the death of the current ruler, she inherits a magical tattoo which puts her in a dangerous position. As one of the Nameless, she has no rights, no job, no possessions, and no family. Being identified as the next ruler, she is the envy and target of every Royal who believes the crown should have gone to someone else, and even those who want the crown for themselves.

This is a clean YA fantasy with a small amount of magic. Available on January 7, 2020.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

I couldn't seem to get into this novel. The premise is certainly interesting, but I couldn't attach myself the main characters. I found that there wasn't depth where I expected there to be some. It was fast paced but a little confusing and jarring in some spots where it seemed to need more depth and hashing out.

I decided to read this book based off the cover. It took a few chapters to get into the story. The main character has a sarcastic wit that I loved. I liked the authors spin on a different society and the class system in that society. And of course the addition of magic makes it even better. I would definitely recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Here is what I loved:

(1) I thought that the characters were interesting with a few surprises that I wasn't expecting.
(2) I thought that the world-building was interesting.
(3) I thought that the magic was interesting, although perhaps bit confusing at times (what fully makes people Nameless?)
(4) I thought that the story was entertaining. It was refreshing to read a YA fantasy book that had other broad themes than a romance.

I will absolutely recommend this book to my nieces and others looking for an interesting fantasy novel that could stand alone.

To address a few of the critical reviews, I have read some reviews that call Coin a Mary Sue character. I don't think that is the case. I think that the author does a nice job building her up as a talented thief and con artist, which allows her to adapt well. I do agree that I hate the fake swearing, but honestly that is my only critique of the book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 34%

This book is not for me. Maybe for a younger audience who is new to the fantasy genre, but it was missing too many things - i.e. descriptive world building, distinctive character voice - for me to want to pick this book up again and again.

This book was a pretty quick read. At about 350 pages, not abnormally short by any means, but the storytelling progressed at a fairly brisk pace, which I appreciated.

At no point did I feel super invested in any of the characters, but I didn’t hate them either. In fact, I can even name several despite having finished the book a few days ago. So, I think I can safely say that I felt McLaughlin did a good job creating some memorable characters.

As for the story itself, I do appreciate the general storyline, but there are some specifics I wasn’t wild about. For example, there is a rather large plot-point that I wish had been a tad less predictable – how the Nameless Queen came to possess the crown tattoo. I wish it had been something different. A breaking down or perhaps evolution of old magics or some-such would have felt a little less disappointing for me personally.

That being said, this is Rebecca McLaughlin’s debut novel, and with that in mind, I think she did a good job of it! I hope that her second (which she is already working on, according to her website) holds more surprises than this one did, but again, all in all, this one was pretty good.

I also keep trying to remind myself that I’m not technically her intended audience here. I have to imagine that young readers are more into those tried and true story tropes, and that perhaps readers of YA lit also find some comfort in them, so maybe the ground I wanted to be broken isn’t really part of the YA landscape anyway. I don’t know. I now officially feel like I’m looking too far into this. All I’m saying is that I wish this story had been a little more ambitious in its specifics.

First, I'd like to thank Rebecca McLaughlin, NetGalley, and Crown Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the city of Seriden there are three castes, Royal, Legal, and Nameless.

Our main character (heroine), Coin, wakes up the same way she fell asleep: knife in hand, boots for a pillow, and nameless. Coin is the name she gave herself growing up with a group of other nameless children with Marcher.

As Coin is waking up, she realizes she has the crown tattoo that marks you as the next sovereign.

She fully believes this is a mistake, you have to have a name to be have the crown passed to you.

This story is a fast paced and near impossible to put down. If I didn't have a full time job and need rest, I would have read this is one sitting. :)

Thank you, again, to Rebecca McLaughlin for writing a book I couldn't put down. I really, really, really hope this gets a sequel! It's so good that I need to know more about the world that Coin and Ester invision. :)

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc copy of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Author: Rebecca McLaughlin

Book Series: Standalone for now

Rating: 5/5

Publication Date: January 7, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, death, gore, and tattoos)

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 352

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Everyone expected the king's daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me.

It shouldn't even be possible. I'm Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don't even get names. Heck, dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care.

But there's no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don't?

Review: This book draws you in and refuses to let you go! I loved the setting and how the world was built throughout the novel. The book did excellent to convey the underlying message about poverty and how we create these social classes out of a need to be above someone else. The book also did well with character development and creation. There was also absolutely no romance in this book and, honestly, that's a huge breath of fresh air in the YA genre.

My only issues are that the book had a bit of a clunky ending. It's a bit rushed and I think it could be fleshed out a bit more but dang it was a great book! What a fantastic first January 2020 read for me! Rebecca McLaughlin, we need another one!

Verdict: Definitely worth your while to get this one!

I made the mistake of looking at the negative reviews before I read this book, so I went in probably not giving it a fair chance. But I ended up enjoying it. Was it perfect? No. But it was engaging, which is a large part of the struggle of an author. It pulled me in, kept me interested, and made me invested in the outcome. Definitely one to give a chance to.