I really enjoyed "Nameless Queen." It has a lot that is similar to many books in the YA fantasy genre- strong female lead, 1st person narration, distinct caste system, rebellion-- does this sound familiar? ;)
The "Nameless Queen" refers to Coin, a teenager in the lowest class of the city of Seridan- so low that she doesn't even get a name. Without a name, she can't even be considered as part of the legal system of the country (this part is a bit iffy to me-- she can't legally commit a crime because she is not a part of the system, but at the same time she can be punished for crimes committed). When a king dies in Seridan, he names the following ruler, who is then marked with a magical tattoo and is able to do magic (of sorts). Coin finds herself with the tattoo after the death of the king, but without a name she has to learn how to find her place in society as the queen.

A few of the less positive reviews I've seen dislike this story because the main character is a "Mary Sue." For those of you that don't know what a "Mary Sue" is- it's a main character that is too perfect and can easily overcome any challenge (and thus, boring). It is often the wish fulfillment of the author. Coin is definitely a Mary Sue.

That being said, I don't think that all Mary Sue books are bad. I can think of plenty of books and movies that I am happy to read or watch with this type of character. If you go into this book looking for action, excitement, and a fun read- then I definitely recommend it to you. "Nameless Queen" had all of that, and more. If you don't enjoy that type of story, you will likely enjoy it less.

The cast of character in "Nameless Queen" come from all of the caste systems in the city. They have personality and are enjoyable to read about. I also appreciated the way that the author ended the book- loose ends tied, and a very satisfying final chapter. A quick read, but a fun one!
Thank you to Random House Children's and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The blurb sounded interesting, but the story fell flat for me. I had a hard time staying engaged or caring about the characters. There was a bit too muck backstory, and a lot of it didn't seem relevant. The secondary characters were a bit "plain," as well. There didn't seem to be much thought into the GMC of the plot. There were a few interesting moments, but not enough to make up for the other issues. I did enjoy the fact that the author didn't feel the need to throw in a romance, as is often the case.

Shockingly heartwarming. Although...I'm not entirely sure that's what I was after...
Still, this is something i can hand to young girls who want a strong heroine who doesn't fall back on a stupid love story, and that is rare.

The most refreshing thing about Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin is the heroine saves the day without a romance sub-plot, which is few and far-between even in the new era of more feminist minded YA fantasy.
Everything else you expect is here though. We've got helping the down-trodden of society in a magical world, a bit of Celeana-esqe snark, a heroine finding herself, her place in the world and a found family along the way. It's a standalone, so no big series and years of waiting commitment. It's a fast-paced, fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next.

3.5 stars

Coin is a Nameless - one of the lower caste that does not have any rights, not even the right to a name. When the king dies, everyone knows that he will have spoken someone's name, causing his tattoo - and his right to rule- on to that person. So when Coin, someone without a name, receives the crown tattoo, she is confused. How could the kind have spoken her name when she has none? And how will the Royals receive her as their queen when, as a Nameless, she is looked upon as the lowest of the low?

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It was fun and exciting to read. I loved the twists and turns that kept you guessing. I loved Coin and Hat and their sisterly relationship. I loved Coin's determination to be heard and make a difference.

I did wish that the writing had gone a bit deeper. I could tell that I was supposed to care as much about Glenquartz and Devil as I did about Coin, but I just didn't think there was digging into their pasts or their relationships with Coin for me to feel that way about them.

There were a couple of other times that I wished we'd gotten to see a bit more, but I can't go into them here because SPOILERS!

But, like I said, I did enjoy reading it. The concept and plot were intriguing and so enjoyable to read.

To be honest, I am not quite sure how I feel. The book started with so much potential, but quickly became predictable and fairly flat.

Coin is Nameless. She is no one of importance, except for maybe to those she steals from. When the king dies, she is named Queen by a magical tattoo, but she can't be named, she is Nameless. She tries to navigate the Royalty and figure out the meaning of friends and family, as she decides whether she wants to keel the throne, or let evil forces take it from her.

I love the concept of the book, the world it is set in is very intriguing. While the plot was predictable, I still enjoyed reading. The characters fell flat for me, and there wasn't much debate on their motivations or whether they were good or bad.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Wow. That's all I can say. I absolutely DEVOURED this book in a few days and I loved the story so much! The character development was awesome and you can see Coin's development from page one. I love how she found the meaning of family, whether by blood or spirit. The scenery and overall land mapping was slightly confusing to me, but was explained well enough. The idea of magic being a tattoo on her arm was very different from most magic systems. I like how when she began to see auras, it bacame an instinct to see them. It wasn't something she had to learn. Fighting/training sequences weren't too drawn out to the point of boredom. It was an overall well rounded story

I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover art. I found that to be beautiful and eye catching. After reading it was for fans of The Red Queen, (a series I absolutely loved) I just had to read it. I think the book wasn’t perfect by any means, but the characters were well written. I did enjoy the story.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Not exactly your typical YA Fantasy, and I have to say I appreciated that about it.

Nameless Queen is the story of a Nameless girl, Coin, in the city of Seriden who becomes its heir overnight. With magic, mischief, cons, and true friendship, this story is truly a sight to behold.

Although there were spots where I believe things happened rather quickly or didn't completely make sense, as far as a debut fantasy goes, this one definitely hits the mark.

I enjoyed the characters and how they were each uniquely them. I loved the wittiness of Coin, the stubbornness of Esther, the friendship of Coin, and the solidness of Glenbeard. The cast of characters is what made this book stand out to me, and slightly reminded me of the ensemble cast of Throne of Glass.

I truly can't wait for what McLaughlin creates next, especially if it's a continuation of this world!

Nameless Queen kept me rather intrigued throughout the entire book. While the idea of a caste system is not new, nor is a low caste character suddenly coming into power, I felt it was decently done. The story line moved at a really good pace and kept my attention the entire time. There was quite a bit of action and some great twists and turns.

Plus, as a main character Coin brought something slightly new to the table. Not having a name and having to be a thief to survive was different. However, what really set this book apart was how magic did not affect those who were Nameless. Coin's ability to read people due to being such a great thief was my favorite part about her character. The supporting characters also were great and really helped move the story along. I think the only thing about some of the characters that I was not the biggest fan of, were some seemed to be a little too "soft".

All in all, this was a pretty good book that I would definitely love to know what happens next.

Book: Nameless Queen
Author: Rebecca McLaughlin
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, for providing me with this ARC.

I really did enjoy this book. The characters and the world were just amazing. I love the mixture of the fantasy and dystopian elements. It just made for such as amazing vibe-think of the world of Red Queen. I don’t know what it is about this mix that always pulls me in. I know both genres are close, but there just is something about them being mixed together. Plus, the idea of rags to riches is just one of my favourite things in book. The whole street rat who is actually royalty troop is something that never gets old for me.

Coin is our lead character. I love how she stays true to her character throughout the whole book. She is strong and caring, but flawed. I love how she will do anything for those she cares about and how she stands up for what she thinks is right-even though she has been named queen. I just love it whenever characters are placed into different situations, but still manage to keep themselves pretty level headed.

Hat, though, was probably my favourite characters in the book. She remained me so much of Primm. She’s sweet and innocent. She is kind, but she is strong in her own way. It’s not the same kind of strength of Coin, but it’s there. It’s more of an innocent kind of strong.

The world building is great. Like I said earlier, there is just something about the mix of fantasy and science fiction that just makes it really difficult for me to put it down. This is a world were some people have a name and some don’t. This leads to a class divide and a social ranking. I know, I know, a lot of you are rolling your eyes at this plot. However, I will always have a soft place for this.

What really made me drop a star off the book was the fact that the ending was really rushed. It felt like for a long time that there was going to be a second book, but we ended up with a really rushed ending. I really wish that the author had taken more time to flesh the story out in this first book, then made it a trilogy or something. Trust me, there is enough in this book to carry a series.


Anyway, this book comes out on January 7, 2020. I’ll be making a Youtube video on this very shortly.

Welcome to a world where your rank in life is based solely on if you have a name or the lack of a name. You can be royal if you have a name, legal has a name but is not royal, illegals you have no name so you are nameless. Nameless have no rights at all and are basically the lowest of the low.
If you want to rule you must have this royal tattoo that is passed on to you when the current dies and speaks your name . Which basically means the nameless will never rule (kind of hard to be named if you have no name). Until one day when all hell comes crashing down and a nameless women ends up with the tattoo.
Now since this is a standalone novel meaning their is no more story contacted to be told. The background of how things are, our main character coin backstory, and the big reason she ends up with this magical tattoo is all withheld tell the last 30 percent of the novel. Which for me was a bit annoying as i was really wanting to connect more then i did with coin.
The first half of the novel does an excellent job of establishing her relationship that she has with one other nameless character and gives some of her history of where she been and where she is now but we don't get much about how the kingdoms came to have nameless people or how magic is controlled.
The strongest part of this story is the last half of the book where all the major plot twists happen and really does not give a lot of time for the events to progress. I think this novel should of been two books maybe 3 just to give the whole concept more time to progress and establish things that really were not able to developed in such a short novel. Otherwise I really looking forward to seeing what else this author has to share. Check out Nameless Queen January 2020.

Nameless Queen takes place in a world where your political status is determined by your name and the lowest class (poorest) are not even given names and, therefore, considered to not be citizens. They are unable to hold jobs and many turn to lives of crime, just to survive. But what happens when one of them is named Queen.

A weird, and yet interesting concept. It was a little confusing, though. Like, if there were whole families in the Nameless class, how did the parents not give their children a name? Isn’t choosing to call somebody anything, in fact giving them a name. Maybe not a legal one, but if there’s magic in the world, wouldn’t it consider any name, a name? Or was Nameless referring to a more political and legal aspect, like they couldn’t apply for paperwork to legally prove their names? Honestly, the concept left me with a lot of questions, but that might just be because I tend to overthink every single thing. Regardless, the story caught my interest and definitely kept it!

Nameless Queen has been a really difficult one for me. I finished the story about a week ago and every time I’ve sat down to type this review, I just can’t seem to get my thoughts straight. On the one hand, I really liked the story. It was unique. It had likeable characters. And hate-able villains. It was an easy and fun read. But then on the other hand, I really don’t think it was done right.

McLaughlin had the chance to create the next Hunger Games and Coin had the potential of being the next Katniss, but it all sort of fell flat. There’s not a lot of depth and I would have loved to dive deeper into Coin and what made her tick. I would have loved to learn more about the magic, the treaties and the other cities. I would have loved seeing more of Belrosa and what made her so horrible. It would have been incredible to have shared more of Coin’s personal growth from loner street thief to someone who cared about everybody. In the very beginning, she mentions not wanting the responsibility of taking care of Hat because she’s just trying to survive, but then (spoiler alert) she’s running into burning buildings to save people she doesn’t know. It’s reasonable that the crown helped her grow beyond her narrow life-view, but seeing a little bit more of that struggle would have really helped to build her character development. Honestly, it all seemed a little rushed. It could have easily been split into a duology and given a lot more back-story and meaning!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading Nameless Queen. It was a good book, it just could have been great. But that’s not going to stop me from telling everyone about it and recommending it to a whole bunch of people. 4 out of 5 stars!

I gotta say, this has got to be the most boring book I have read this year. The synopsis sounded really interesting, but the premise...ehh. Kind of a tired trope for me.

Our MC Coin is nameless yet one morning wakes with the crown tattoo on her arm making her the new ruler of the country, granting her with some magic that isn't really explained all that well for the part of the book I read to (and considering how much I did read, it should have by that point). And this is a problem because she is "Nameless", and typically only the "Legals" and the "Royals" get the tattoo. None of them want her to have the tattoo because she could be more loyal to the other nameless and start to give them rights, *gasp*. How DARE she want to give people the chance to have jobs and homes and food legally... What a HORROR that could be for the country.

Anyway, Coin as a character is so dull. She hardly struggles with her new powers, she can create illusions almost instantly. She mostly complains about annoying shit and is forced to take etiquette classes... for some reason. The council plans to force her to hand over the power during some tournament, so it seems really pointless for her to take these classes. Yet, they don't bother to teach her how to read, and with her being nameless you'd think it would be assumed that she couldn't since the Nameless don't really exist in their society as people. They can't have or DO anything, most of them are orphans.

I feel like this book is more suited for a few years ago, at the height of the Dystopian genre. Because now, the book feels like a tired trope. Especially with Coin being a Mary Sue of sorts.

This is a world divided into three different class systems. The royal, who have the most control and power. The legals, which seem to be the working class. And then the Nameless, who are so below everyone else they don't even have a name.
The story is told from a Namless girl who calls herself Coin. Where the king dies, she is named heir by a magical tattoo appearing on her arm. Instead of running away she faces her destiny head on.

Going into this book I didn't have high hopes for it. Something about the name threw me. However I was very much surprised by it. There was great characters and intriguing storylines to get swept up in. There isn't any romance in this book but the story does not lack because of it. Between the character development and the political aspects there is more than enough going on to keep reading.

3.5 stars, rounded down.

This book starts with an interesting idea, gets a little uninspired in the middle, but ends on a high note. Rounded down because it doesn’t make sense to me that Coin could be both Nameless but also have her name spoken as the Queen. I don’t feel like that ever really gets resolved but the implications of each status have major impacts. Nothing is truly unique or remarkable but it’s a fun read and I actually think a sequel would be more successful now that the world building is done.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Soooo good. You follow this nameless girl who goes by Coin. Who comes from a world of Nameless, loyals, and royals. They have a different way of bestowing the crown by saying a name of the heir with their last breath. Coin wakes up and wakes up with a crown tattoo on her arm. Becomeing the QUEEN of the kingdom because on the king's death bed he whispered her name. HER NAME. But she is nameless how or why would he name her and not his daughter. She plans to except until fate makes her show herself to save her "friend" and potentially everyone else. You have twists and turns and you can just feel the emotions in the words of this book.

I would total take points off for the ending tho. Like IT WAS RIGHT THERE GIVE IT TO ME!!!

Yeah this book was not for me, as in I wanted to DNF it, but pushed through it. The world building was lacking, character development was lacking. The book was very predictable and I hated that because it really sounded cool, and had a lot of promise-just wasn't executed very well.

Overall, I thought this book was a good standalone ya fantasy novel. In the beginning it was giving me major Six of Crows vibes because the main character Coin is a part of the "Nameless" lower-class who live on the streets and have to steal to survive. However, this quickly became a royalty-political power struggle novel, with major "chosen one" vibes. The part that stuck out to me the most was that THERE WAS NO ROMANCE in this book! Instead, the book focuses on the power struggle between the societal classes as well as the friendships between the female characters, which was kind of refreshing! There did seem to be a tiny hint of a f/f relationship between the MC and a secondary character, but it was never fleshed out. I wish we had gotten a little more character development from some of the characters, but as a short standalone novel I understand why some descriptions were modest. I really enjoyed Esther and wished we had seen more of her. My biggest beef were the bad guys: Marcher, gang leader (morally gray?) and the general (standard evil villain) -neither were fully fleshed out nor is the reader given a clear understanding of what their goals actually were and the "why" behind them.

This novel was refreshing. It is the first novel I have read in awhile where the main female character was not entwined in some type of romantic relationship. This allowed Coin to fully grow into herself and it truly a breath of fresh air to read.