Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an e-galley of Queen Bee.

I loved this book from start to finish - a perfect Bridgerton adjacent book for teens, complete with mystery, drama, and a healthy dose of romance.

Ela was betrayed horribly by her best friend. Fast forward three years, and she has reinvented herself and appeared on the London social scene. No one recognizes Ela after her disappearance, so she is able to launch her revenge scheme against Poppy. However, the further into her plan she gets, the more Ela realizes that revenge might not be her end goal after all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review! After seeing the cover, I knew immediately that this was a book that I wanted to read. Queen Bee is a book that gives off major Bridgerton vibes, which is a win for young historical fiction fans. I would have loved this book as a teen, especially as a youth who loved Regency novels. Queen Bee is a solid debut novel for Howard, it has great themes and interesting characters. I look forward to seeing what she writes in the future!

This was a fun YA read with Bridgerton vibes but less spice and a diverse cast of characters. I loved the strong female lead! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

This young adult novel blew me away! I loved every minute of reading this and if I could have read this without taking any breaks I would have.

This is a regency era historical fiction novel but one with plenty of diversity. This story spotlights POC and LGBTQ+ characters and I am here for it! 

The author basically gave me everything I wanted in this book. She made a story about girl whose reputation was ruined instead of just hinting at consequences. I cannot think of a story that followed a ruined girl in this period of time. 

The revenge plots and the banter were entertaining to read. The author pulled no punches and the ending was almost exactly how I wanted things to go. There was not ever a time that I felt the author played it safe or wrote something to appease anyone. 

To sum things up, the author wrote a great story that entertains and engages readers. I will definitely be reading this book again and will likely be reading more from this author. Drop everything to get this book!

Very Bridgerton-esque in tone with added diversity and more gentle romance, this novel will appeal to younger teens looking for historical romance without the spiciness. I loved the characters but wished it adhered more closely to some of the tropes of the romance genre.

love a good historical romance! ela is quick witted and the ultimate heroine that makes you just want to keep reading. loved the ending.

I guess I might be rating it a little harshly since it's technically YA, but it didn't rank highly for me amongst books in romance or YA either. I don't think the heroine really learned anything, despite the fact that's kind of a key of the genre/age group. As a result, the fact that the cast is racially diverse is likely to be underrated. Missable overall.

It's got a lot of the vibes that make for intriguing stories: Bridgerton, revenge, and a cute boy!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book.

I hadn’t read from this author before, so I went into this with no expectations other than a vengeful, YA historical romance.

Queen Bee is a story of revenge, set in Regency era England. Ela is betrayed by her childhood best friend, who wants the Duke’s son at the cost of Ela’s entire reputation. So Ela is left penniless, orphaned, and ruined. Instead of feeling sad for herself, she decides to rise from the ashes of the ton and get even.

Ela comes back to society as Lyra Whitley, intending to humiliate her ex-best friend, Poppy, using the Duke’s son, Keston, as her pawn to win the chess game.

Without spoiling too much, this is a fun story about revenge where a young girl reinvents herself over three years to come back to London society. We get back-and-forth chapters between Lyra and Ela, showing us how Ela was betrayed and how Lyra needs to seduce Keston in order to carry out her vengeful plan, but her old feelings are rearing their ugly head, creating a hitch in her plan for revenge as she slowly falls back in love with her childhood lover.

This story flowed smoothly, and I loved the past and present chapters and how well they worked to create a plot and a timeline. The characters felt like real people, and the female side characters really shined in this! (Church and Zia namely) I enjoyed the budding romance between Ela/Lyra and Keston.

My biggest complaint is that the ending was wrapped up too quickly, and I would have liked to see some of it drawn out a bit more for my satisfaction. I also would have loved to see Poppy’s demise or see more of Ela’s plan to ruin Poppy. It seems like two small things happened and then Poppy is out to pasture. Otherwise, this was a really cute young adult historical romance!

Coming off of a Bridgerton high, I wanted to like this book so badly! I think the projection of my hopes and wishes for Queen Bee by Amalie Howard to be Bridgerton-like shaped most of my opinions about it - especially while waiting on the next season to hit Netflix in December. Unfortunately, I did not like this book and only stuck with it until 80% , before giving up.

We did decide to order a copy of the book for our library and purchase a copy for our digital collection too.

I am OBSSESSED! I felt the same compulsion to read this book as for the Bridgerton series, which I devoured the first 2 books.

Have you watched the TV show Revenge? Gosh I loved that show. A 20-something rich girl that plans her revenge against those who were bad to her father.... I devoured every episode, always wanting more. I was devastated when it ended. This book felt like the show : a rich 17 years old is planning her revenge against those who made her life a living hell 3 years before.

Chapters are alternating between past (Ela in 1814) and present (Lyra in 1817), so we can understand better why she's planning to demolish her enemies.

It's perfect, in every way.

I read Amalie Howard’s Always Be My Duchess a while back and thoroughly enjoyed that fun Pretty Woman retelling. So, when I saw Queen Bee I immediately requested it. (I also have her Clueless ARC retelling of Never Met A Duke Like You, which I’m excited to start soon!)

Queen Bee has been marketed as Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo. I can get down with that description as long as you include the chess and Machiavelli strategies.

We all know the worst thing that can happen to a woman in Regency era novels is for her reputation to be ruined. This happens to our main character Lady Ela Dalvi (turns Lyra) when her best friend, Poppy, disgraces her publicly with lies. All over a boy, Keston. 🙄

After 8 years “Lyra” enters town looking completely different (she’s thinned up and matured in her later adolescence and learned how to dye her hair) for REVENGE with plans to ruin Poppy and Keston (because how dare him believe the lies!). All this with strategies she’s devised from Machiavelli and chess moves.

I enjoyed this one a lot, very bingeable. I’ll admit that Poppy is a very one-dimensional character, which isn’t my favorite because it’s entirely unrealistic. And I feel like Keston should’ve had a bit more development/retribution, but alas…if you’re looking for a fun, quick revenge YA romance that has anti-historical non-white main characters, then this fits the bill! I look forward to reading Howard’s next book soon!

I loved the idea of a female version of the Count of Monte Cristo. It was really well done, and the dual timelines added an incredible layer of depth. The main character was my favorite kind: you love her, you hate her, you want to be more like her, and you definitely want her as a best friend. The ending was satisfying without being unrealistic or rushed. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes regency era novels, revenge tropes, and second chance romance.

“There was room for only one queen.”—Queen Bee
Amalie Howard’s newest release, Queen Bee, is Mean Girls meets Bridgerton. A whirlwind of a YA romance that combines the chess match of The Count of Monte Cristo with the affluency and shine of Regency London. Not only is Queen Bee well-crafted with a storyline that weaves between past and present timeline events, it’s also gorgeously diverse which makes diving into a world of status, lies, and reputation all even more lush.

Our heroine as we meet her is Lyra Whitley, a brand-new lady to the ton and ready to take London to its knees. It’s safe to say that if there was a song to have on repeat it would be Taylor Swift’s Vigilante Sh*t. “Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge.” You see, Lyra is a new identity for Ela Dalvi. Lyra’s goal is singular: to expose Poppy Landers as the slanderous snake she is rather than the demure lady she tries to be.

“It was time to be bold, less quiet wallflower and more fearless warrior. The kind of girl who would never let herself be used or taken advantage of. The kind of girl whom no one could touch.” —Queen Bee
Told in dual-timelines, readers quickly learn the reasons why Lyra reinvented herself. Three years prior to Lyra’s present time, Ela and Poppy are the best of friends. Ela is young and naïve to the fact that Poppy is a social climber. It’s only when her friendship with the new marquess next door threatens her friendship does Ela begin to see the real Poppy.

Queen Bee is full of chess metaphors, Machiavellian schemes, and life lessons that even most adults struggle with these days. For Lyra as she starts to lay the groundwork for her revenge, she realizes that her heart has gotten in the way of her well-thought-out plans. Taking revenge at the cost of others isn’t something she had included in her schemes.

“We were limited by many things, but rules could be bent, structures could be unbuilt, society dismantled from the inside. Women held more power than we knew.”—Queen Bee
It’s Lyra/Ela’s romance with Keston, Lord Ridley, that truly won me over, as well as her friendships that made Ela’s character shine the brightest. Between the lessons that Ela must experience in order to learn (highly relatable content if you ask me), the diversity and inclusivity of all the characters, and the lessons that are so beautifully taught Queen Bee is a phenomenal new YA Historical Romance.

Read if you like: revenge stories, Regency romance
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This book was really fun. Ela's life is ruined by her best friend, Poppy, so three years later she returns with a plan for revenge. I liked Ela and her growth in this book, and the romance was cute! If you like Regency romance stories but don't love spice, then this would be a great book for you!

Another lovely read from Amalie Howard! I throughly enjoy seeing amazing romance authors create strong works for YA readers!

This is great for fans of Bridgerton. I loved this revenge story. Fills a hole for diverse regency books.

This book is meant for fans of Bridgerton which is a show that I love.I couldn't put it down and read it in just one sitting!This was such a fun read! A likeable main character, and interesting side characters as well. In fact, the side characters are so well written that I would love to know more about them and their story.

Regency romance plus revenge plot?! Yes, please!

This book is meant for fans of Bridgerton or the old WB show, Revenge. Fans of Manda Collins and Evie Dunmore will love the intersection of the historical romance and the plot for revenge against those who ruined the main character’s reputation. Queen Bee also goes well with Reputation by Lex Croucher.