This is an awesome book. It has such a different take on magic. Only the ruler has magic and it is transferred by naming their replacement before they die or at a dual. I will be looking to see what else Rebecca McLaughlin has written.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley to review and thoroughly enjoyed it.

A typical, generic YA fantasy. Not heavily steeped in world building but a good enough plot to keep a reader interested

This was a highly engaging fantasy. The social justice component made this valuable and readable. Fantasy doesn't circulate widely in my library, but this has more universal appeal.

Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin is a good fantasy YA standalone. It is well-developed world with a unique plot. Enjoyable.

I honestly feel bad that it took me so long to even start this novel because it was so good!

Coin is one of the Nameless, with only her wits and street skills to keep her alive. Then one day she is able to see auras and into people's minds as a black crown tattoo appears on her arm. Thrown into the world of politics and plots, Coin must find out how she became queen, stay alive, and just maybe unite the splintered factions of her land.

I loved this world. Sure, it may seem simplistic with the three classes. Royals-the lords and ladies of the land; Legals- the middle class that can never rise above their station; and the Nameless- those born with no proper names and are not considered citizens. But it was a rich world that I want to continue delving into.

Each character has many layers to them. Every single one has flaws and strengths, so much so that you almost never know who you want to root for. Maybe you want Coin to grow into her powers and become a proper queen, rather than just run away and stay alive. Or maybe the dead king's daughter should really become queen, etc.

Plus I loved how Coin grew into her powers. Sure, she was able to do some things right away, but she wasn't able to control them really well. Seeing her test her abilities and learn throughout the novel was a lovely way to show the passage of time.

All in all, a brilliant novel. I would love to dive into this world in another novel to see how the world progresses after that ending.

so I will say that I didn't hate it. It just wasn't one of my favorites. I feel like I have read this story before ... i.e. Red Queen, Divergent... Hunger games... I was very confused by the main character. I feel like she didn't have any strong convictions and flip flopped a lot from being a strong independent person to being super insecure. It was just confusing. The story it's self was interesting I just wasn't super impressed.

In the city are the Royals at the top, then the Legals, and at the bottom of everything are the Nameless, who are not legally subject to the laws and can be subjected to any punishment that the legal citizens can imagine. The King has just died, and the royal tattoo is passed to the heir that he names. Instead of it being his daughter Esther, it's a Nameless girl. Now she's swept up into the intrigue in the city, with few who believe she is capable of rule, and there is a deadline for peacefully passing along the tattoo to another person... unless it's taken by force.

The world building for the magic is fascinating. It was limited to those with Names, so that reading auras, inducing thoughts and hallucinations and receiving them cannot be used on the Nameless. While Coin is our entry into this world, waking up in the streets and then hearing the hullaballoo, it gradually gives us access to the wider world as she's introduced to it and forced to learn how the upper classes work. The entire underclass is ignored and exploited, and there are limits to how high the Legals can reach. Even within the royalty are difficulties in figuring out who to trust. It's more than just one class vs. another, though that certainly plays a role as the novel progresses. Characters have their own motivations, and Coin is thrust into the center of it and forced to react. As much as she is used to attacking just long enough to run away and live another day, now she has to learn how to strategize.

I was drawn into this novel and absolutely devoured it, staying up later than I intended to in order to finish this. While the ending of the novel is neatly done and there isn't likely to be a sequel, I sincerely hope that there will be. I would love to see what happens in future works!

I loved this book! When I first started reading, it was a little confusing for me to understand the characters and the setting but after the first couple chapters it was hard for me to put down. I loved the main character and related to her view of the world, not trying to get close to anyone and being used to looking out only for herself. If I could say one negative thing about the book, it would be that I wish it were longer and got into more detail about the history of the kingdom, other cities, magic, etc. I'd really love to see a sequel!

This book was so good! I loved both the introduction and dedication and the first sentence had me hooked. The author's way of writing is so pretty sometimes, such as "trying to learn to read was like deciphering planets from flickering stars." Also, I'm so glad I decided to read the acknowledgments because they were hilarious and they made me happy.

Storyline-wise, y'all, this is the kind of found family crap that I live for! All of the characters are just a giant family and I loved it so much! I have to admit that for a while there, I couldn't decide if there was no love interest or if there was some weird lesbian love triangle (which, in hindsight, is hilarious). Turns out, this is one of the rare occasions where there is no love interest at all! Or, if there is, which there might be, it wasn't really addressed. In all seriousness though, this book addresses equal rights so well, as well as dealing with confidence, finding oneself, and believing in self-worth.

I loved the characters in this book! Even two characters who came in at the very end had my heart the second they showed up. Hat and Coin are so cute! Coin is so sassy and she reminds me Celaena from Throne of Glass, so if you love Celaena, then you'll love Coin! And Glenquartz has my whole heart. Even though the villain was obvious from the start, she was great at her role in the story, and I hate her with my entire being.

There is one Trigger Warning for emotional abuse and manipulation, but it only lasts for a few paragraphs.

Overall, this book had so many important aspects, and I definitely recommend giving it a try if any of the above gave you even a hint of something that would interest you!

Shakespeare poised the question, ‘what is in a name?’ His point was that language is arbitrary. Names are given to items in the world around us to ease communication. But an item by any other name does not lose its essential characteristics. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

But what is really in a name for a person? Identity. First names are usually carefully selected. Surnames have often evolved based on geographic origins and family histories. Names become the framework around which we build our sense of self and the way we proclaim to others, here I am, this is me. Without a name, it might be quite challenging to know one’s self and one’s place in the world.

Take a person’s name away and you strip them of all that. Even worse, you could never give them a name to begin with… In Nameless Queen, that is the premise. Society is greatly divided between three key groups—Royals, Legals, and Nameless. Those who are born Nameless are not even truly citizens of the society. They are sentenced from birth to live on the fringes and must resort to criminal behavior for everything they need. It is a miserable life of struggle and survival at best, but most often loss.

The protagonist is Coin. She wakes up one day and life is suddenly much different. She has a tattoo that signifies she was named next in line to the throne. This should not be possible because Coin is nameless, but somehow it has happened. When Coin is discovered, she is taken to the palace and locked up as a prisoner. Those in power feel she cannot be queen. Not only is she ill-equipped, but her ascension to the throne would upend the entire foundation upon which this society is built… but Coin must figure out why this has all happened and what she wants to do with this newly found power.

It is super challenging to get into the entire plot of Nameless Queen without risking massive spoilers. Coin is expected to give up her power, which she agrees to do. However, while waiting for the fateful moment in which she can do that, she manages to run into one kind of trouble after another. She also manages to uncover long-lost secrets about her past, including the answer to how she was named the next ruler of the kingdom. Along the way, Coin develops a beautiful ‘found family’ that support her through challenges, including her own self-discovery of who she was, who she is, and who she is capable of being. By the end, Coin does know who she truly is, and what she must do next…

In Nameless Queen, Rebecca McLaughlin has created a world and a character that allow the reader to not only enjoy a fantasy story but reflect on its deeper meanings. There are some valuable lessons and emotional moments that really bring the story to life beyond the page. There were a few elements that could have been made clearer or could have been better driven home, but overall, I enjoyed this book and found myself thinking about it well after I read the last page. I believe it is a standalone novel, but I would happily read a sequel set in this world, and with these endearing characters.

Finally, thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s Crown Books for Young Readers, and Rebecca McLaughlin for an advanced reader’s copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review!

I think I might be getting too old for YA, because the tropes in this book are ones that I would've adored if I'd read it as a teenager. Now, I felt that some of the plotlines were cliche and recycled from other books (especially those referenced in the description), but I'm sure that a teenager with an interest in high fantasy would enjoy this immensely.

2.5 stars

Nameless Queen has an intriguing premise. However, I must say it is a simple / basic YA fantasy story. So if you're like me and have read your fair share of those, you might not find a new favorite even though the beginning was strong and captivated me immediately. If you haven't read many Ya Fantasy books, then you might enjoy it more than me.

I understand why this book is being compared to Red Queen and Everless even though these are better executed from what I can retell (which is not a lot). They were pretty forgettable. I only remember that in Red Queen, people are divided between Red and Silver blood, I think. And in Everless, blood is the currency.

Now, in Nameless Queen people are divided in three castes: the Royals, the Legals and the Nameless. The last category don't have names and seemed homeless for the most part. And when, out of nowhere, a nameless girl is being "named" as the next Queen in the form of a Crown tattoo appearing on her shoulder, the Royals aren't happy and wants to make her name another heir. Two people are vying for the throne : Belrosa and the late King's daughter, Esther. Coin will try to find an ally in her guard among all the cruel Royals that want her dead.

<u>Things I liked:</u>
-The idea of being named to be Queen or King and the Crown tattoo.
-Quick and easy to go through.

<u>Things I didn't like:</u>
-There was no real world-building, no explanation about the magic system.
-The main character "Coin" learns instantly how to uses hers once the tattoo shows up on her arm. It was very unrealistic and unbelievable when she never created an illusion before or even knew aura existed.
-The weird swearing ("Gaiza") and weird names (Coin, Hat, Glenquartz...)
-Halfway through, I wanted to give up because I wasn't invested enough and I didn't connect to the characters.
-That fight scene at the end and everything Coin was saying in it made me cringe so badly! The ending was also very underwhelming and felt too easy -
Overall, this book was too messy and had too many flaws for me to love it. I won't be reading the sequel.

<i>(Thank you for letting me read an arc via Netgalley and give an honest review)

Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for this arc.

[2.5]

This whole book dragged on for me. The magic and caste system left me with so many questions, and the whole time I continued to be confused about how and why things were happening. Coin's whole situation was a mess.

Also, the ending just upset me. This whole build-up about names and she just ends up going "Well I can't read so!" So much was left unspoken, like did Marcher actually escape? What will happen to Belrosa?

I loved this world and there were a lot of lines that I loved. I would have loved if the book went more into what identity means when you don't have a name, but also the name aspect is kinda ruined by the fact that like they all do have names, but they are literally just not written in the book.

At times the magic seemed so powerful, and other times useless, overall making it hard to understand its boundaries, abilities, etc. I also wished the history of the city was better explained along with what all the ruler ever did with their powers. I continually felt as though the ruler was meant to be so hands-off, and one of the few amazing uses of the magic was to persuade others to do their bidding, which seems like it could easily become a ruthless dictatorship. We explore the idea of the royals getting to power-hungry and a bit of power-hungry past, but it just seemed like a corrupt system.

This was a dark, adventuress book that pulled you in for a terrifying ride! When Coin finds herself named Queen by the declaration of a tattoo transferred by the king to her arm, she must decide whether to save herself of the Nameless. Interviews up on Amazon, and two of my blogs: https://www.tracikenworth.com and https://www.adashofseasons.com.

I received this one from Netgalley which didn’t influence my review, though I will say a few other reviews might have. They helped me put a finger on some of my issues with this. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book overall but it’s not one that is going to stay with me. I thought at first that it was so heavily entwined in social injustice and that’s not my cup of tea. I get enough of that in the real world. But there is something more. Some claimed things were too easy for Coin and I have to say they might be on to something.

This world is class-rigid, the Royals, the Legals and the Nameless, who are so poor and unwanted, they can’t legally work and even magic doesn’t recognize them. For one, it seems like a tremendously bad idea to have huge segment of your population unable to work because what does that leave besides thieving and piracy? The legals fear that if the Nameless get recognition they’ll take the few jobs that are around at this point. Worse, the king has died and the Royals are trying to find where his magic has gone, which will appear as a crown on the new leader’s arm.

Coin is Nameless. She’s tough and young, having broken away from Marcher, the man who raised and trained her in con jobs and thieving. She feels responsible for Hat, the Nameless girl who sees her as a big sister. (No, we don’t find out why no one names the Nameless who DO have family units. It’s like what do they call them until they pick their own names). Unsurprisingly Coin has received the king’s power and no one wants her, not the army and definitely not the Royals. Even Coin doesn’t want to be here because she knows they’ll kill her to free up the power and honestly why this doesn’t happen immediately seems strange.

Coin is allowed to live if she gives up the power at the Assassin’s festival where anyone can challenge the newly crowned leader and take the magic. The man who originally arrested her, one of the Royal guards, Glenquartz becomes a surprising champion for Coin. Esther, the expected Queen, daughter of the last king, is also interesting and not entirely of the mind Coin must die. Coin, on the other hand, is trying to learn how to work the Court and is trying to find out where all the disappearing Nameless are going.

The second half of the book is Coin learning to control her new magic and learning how a Nameless person could inherit the magic. Coin does seem to master almost everything thrown at her with little effort. It’s entertaining enough but in a way almost naïve. If Coin can suddenly change the Nameless status for all, how is she going to change Legal and Royal minds? Just by saying so? Prejudice and fear don’t work that way. It seems a bit too pat in the end. Maybe if there’s a second book it’ll address that but in the end, this isn’t really my sort of story. I don’t think I’d read a sequel.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC
First off, I found this story a little hard to get into. But after a little bit, I found myself wanting to read more. I loved the character. I can't wait to read more from the author

can't wait to read more from this author! i fell in love with the characters in her book and the story line was easy to follow and get into! I would recommend her books to anyone into the YA Genre!

First of all thank you to Net Galley for the option to read this book
However, I had picked this book up around the holidays and found myself wondering and re-reading pages, I kept having to pick it up, put it down, I could not get into it. I thought with the holiday madness this was the case

When I picked this book to read, I was intrigued by the premise. Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest and it was hard to find the motivation to finish. Coin while being entertaining, intelligent and likable, she seems to be able to master everything with very little effort and have no prior experience. When she enters the palace as the Nameless Queen, she instantly has the skills of an experienced and skilled diplomat. She also learns that she has certain abilities like reading someone’s memories or their auras will very little trial and error.
2.5 stars for me

Rating: 4/5 stars

I found this book pretty hard to get into. It starts off feeling very typical midlist YA fantasy, feeling like a story I'd read many times over. By the end, I'd come full circle and I really enjoyed the last 25% or so. Once more of the story started to come to light, more of the hidden machinations and character motivations, it became much easier to enjoy the book as a whole.

A few characters I loved: Hat, Glenquartz, & Esther. I didn't super love the main character, though I appreciated her arc throughout the book.

I wanted to love this book. The premise was set up for me to love it, and the world and conflict sounded so intriguing. But there was something lackluster about it, and I'm still trying to figure out why. There were also some minor things that irritated me and took me out of the story - fake swear words, silly names, easily resolved conflicts. Overall, it wasn't bad, and I got through the story with some enjoyment, but it wasn't what I hoped it would be.