I didn’t finish it... Honestly the book is good, the narrator too, but this novel is just not for me!

A very solid story and it was interesting. One I would recommend for sure.

The characters kept me interested and made me keep coming back to this story line.

I did enjoy the two central characters conversing, despite them residing in different sections of the realm but it felt like the story did not properly begin until they were joined together in one, halfway into the book. The title of the book is what intrigued me and these elements did not begin until after their second meeting and by this point some of my initial interest had waned.

This audiobook being my very first, was such a great listen. The narrator spoke clear and with a lot of emotion where it was needed.

The story itself is perfect for fans of high fantasy and thrilling adventures. Can't wait to read more from this author

Contest of Queens by Jordan H. Bartlett was a kinds of fantastic! I loved this book so much. Beautifully written and masterfully told. The audiobook was phenomenal. Highly, highly recommended!

It's giving Princess and the Pea meets The Selection sprinkled with a little Jack and the Beanstalk.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end from the female-centric society, commentary on gender and class, and political landscape -- both literally and metaphorically.

A great read middle grade to YA.

TW: police brutality and violence

Contest of Queens follows two protagonists, Jacs and Connor/Cornelius, one of whom is an inventor in the world’s lower realms, and one of whom is the prince of the world’s upper realms. The two spend years exchanging letters until the day they are meant to meet, when tragedy strikes, and starts Jacs on a quest to enter the contest to become the next queen and improve the lives of everyone living in the lower realms.

While reading this book, I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised with how invested I became in Jacs and Connor’s relationship. The fact that they exchanged letters for years before ever meeting really made their friendship feel genuine, and added to the stakes once the plot kicked into gear. The supporting cast is strong as well, and hosts a number of queer characters who get a good amount of screen time.

The world building is detailed, and this book features griffins - a tragically underused mythical creature.

I am highly looking forward to the next book and would definitely recommend this to anyone as a solid fantasy title with strong main characters.

I loved this book with its unique society and interesting characters.

Our protagonist, Jacs, is from the Lower Realm and possesses a brilliant mind as an inventor. Her curiosity about the Upper Realm, where people live vastly different lives, leads to an unlikely friendship with Connor, the Prince of the Upper Realm. Their realtionship is filled with secrecy and defies all odds. When the Contest of Queens is announced, Jacs is determined to participate, despite being a Lowrian and facing the geographical challenge of reaching the Upper Realm, nestled high within the mountains.

The story delves into the issue of prejudice based on birthplace and effectively dismantles sexist stereotypes by the story being set in a matriarchal society. The underlying messages conveyed throughout the book are truly remarkable. The story had several LGBT side characters which I enjoyed immensely and even a society where equal marriage rights were a given.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves YA fantasy and would like to read about a different kind of society than the typical fantasy book.

"Thank you Netgalley for giving me the access to the audio book and giving me the opportunity of finding this gem!!!"


Holy Mother Of Queens!!!!!!

Man....
I don't know where to begin.
🤔

I took my time with this one. The book started out slow. With background information about the Queendom and the main characters and the foundation of their friendship. But after that it was high passed and I purposely delayed the end of the book, putting it away multiple times because I did not want to finish it so quickly. Since I can't seem to find the second book on Netgalley and the published books haven't arrived at our store yet, I took my time with the audiobook. (The narrator is amazing by the way, she really does a great job in telling the story but also in voicing the characters and bringing their feelings across)
It is my understanding that this will be a trilogy, so I'll have to wait even longer for the third instalment. But the first and second book will be available in Fnac Wijnegem Belgium soon!!!!

What you need to know about this book:
It starts slow.
It ends to fast.
Woman have the power! They rule, they are the Knights, they are the masters, the counsel, everything.
The Queendom of Frea consists of two classes - the Upperites, who live above the cliffs (the rich) and the Lowerites (the poor) who live down below in the valley.
This is LGBTQ+ friendly. A woman marring/loving another woman is normal, cheered upon and respected throughout the realms.
This book is at first about the people and a girl trying to find a way to help all of them, being there for them. Upperites and Lowerites alike. As equals. There is a lot of backstabbing, blackmail, conspiracies, accusations, prejudice, misconceptions, lies, hate.
But it is also about friendship. And how to listen to one another and trust one without even knowing that person and when you learn things that might upset you or others around you, it is about you trusting yourself and your knowledge about that person and trusting them and not the voices around you. It is about love and friendship.
It's an adventure you must take to understand.

I loved this.
I honestly enjoyed this one, even when I thought, at first, that this would be to childish for me, It proved me wrong quit quickly.
I would definitely recommend this one.
And I'm craving for the second instalment!!!

• YA Fantasy Romance • Feminist / Matriarch
• Griffins •LGBTQIA+ • Dual POV
• Inventor main character • Hidden Identity
• Competition • Friends to lover / slow
burn • Strong female characters • Political intrigue

First off this cover!! Then I fell in love with how cute the begging of the story is. From there it was a lot of fun seeing the two characters grow. With that ending I had to pre-order the next book I need to know how this ends, I defiantly think this book is a true hidden jem.

This is not my normal genre, and I came by this by accident. My husband was listening to it in the car and I heard it and was intrigued. So, I requested it and really enjoyed it. Jordan has done a really good job creating these characters and describing the two kingdom worlds in which they live. I was particularly taken with the nature of this matriarchal society. This book will entertain YR, YA and everyone that likes a good story. Can’t wait for the next part of the story. Thank you to CamCat books and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Book 74 of 2023

🌟 4.5 🌟

It's such a beautiful story. I loved Jacs and Connors' relationship and the "upper" & "lower" realms where the "rich" and "poor" are essentially divided and are living in entirely different worlds.

I loved how inclusive this book was. We had an F/F relationship, and women were proudly announced as the "protectors" & " breadwinners" such as guards and knights.

I think the favourite part of the book was when Jacs was discussing the possibility of men enrolling into the army & training and how it was met with "Oh but how would the female knights control themselves around men, oh they could not possibly be emotionally stable enough to participate in battle etc" which is a total uno reverse on the real world and how women were and are still treated.

My only wish is that we had more of the lovestory and perhaps a little less politics. Also, there was a massive cliffhanger at the end of the book, which slightly frustrated me. 😀

Overall, it is a great, diverse fantasy book, politics and world building based, lots of adventure, and some banter. I would say that it is mid-grade to YA, and it has great potential in becoming a series!

I was listening to the audiobook at x1.25 speed and found the narrator's voice really clear and calming, with just the right amount of emotion and very good adjustment of the voice between characters and scenes.

I am looking forward to book 2 for sure!

I was kindly gifted the audiobook by the author & Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of contest of queens by Jordan h. Bartlett. This was fantastic. So unexpected and wonderful. Creating a whole world, upper and lower levels. The queen is killed in a world where women are superior to men. The contest is started to find a new queen. A young girl is brave enough to head up to the upper level which is not allowed and joins the contest to find her beloved Connor whome she's been exchanging letters with for a few years. She thought he was a servant but it was the prince and they had no idea. This should really get more renown than what it currently has. This is gripping and the adventure is fantastic.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I really enjoyed this one. Decent world building and well developed characters, this felt like a comfort read to me. Will be looking forward to seeing what comes next! I liked the narrator a lot as well.

I really enjoyed the story throughout, I did find the ending very quick but overall the story was well-paced and enjoyable.

I love the main characters and as I listen to the audiobook I found it very relaxing and an enjoyable experience overall.

I really loved the world building, I could easily see the upper and lower realms connected by a single bridge and not much else. The role reversal between males and females was interesting and rarely felt over done.
I loved the main characters and their nodes of communication between realms.
I've already got book 2 on my tbr.

Contest of Queens managed to surprise me. Going in with no expectations despite the beautiful cover, I was quickly engaged with the characters and world of this YA Fantasy, and struggled to pull myself away from this story, despite it’s long runtime.

The book takes place in a Queendom, a gender role swap where women rule and men are mostly seen as the brute force gender, and it was quite interesting to see the differences due to this change, and was rather enlightening, from the major plot of women in charge to the smaller details. The country is divided in two, the elite Upper Realm above the clouds, and the commoner Lower Realm, on the surface, and the conflict with them is quite intense, especially since they barely talk to each other. The world overall was fleshed out and I was in love with the world building and how it was delivered and I just wanted to know more, even as the last minutes went by. Either way, the prose and setting gave a classical and whimsical High Fantasy feel to the world, with inventions like hot air balloons just coming into being. The story itself is paced well, with a gradual build up of the world and characters at the start, ramping up in the second half with the contest, with plenty of surprises and twists along the way, with immersive prose that kept me in the story.

Connor, a prince from the Upper Realm, and Jacs, an inventor from the Lower Realm, start out as pen pals and grow closer, at least until tragedy strikes. The two were perfect complements, with Connor somewhat naive and having to grow up, and Jacs being determined and resourceful, as well as kind to most of the people she comes across, but also shares her host of demons. The other characters were memorable and likable as well, with the inventor and two fellow contestants Jacs meets being highlights for me.

The narrator, Karissa Vacker was spot on, her voice changing according to the situation and for the most part, great with the voices, though I sometimes got confused with Connor and his father, the King, since they sounded so similar.

I highly recommend this to no spice YA Fantasy fans and looking forward to where book 2 is going.

Really enjoyed. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to listen to this ARC. I think the cover is gorgeous as well.

want to thank NetGalley for providing an audiobook version of this that I could listen to for an honest review.

oh, I loved this so much. a matriarchal society where men are the ones too emotional to be knights or lords or king? where no one bats an eye at someone being gay or bi? amazing.

both main characters felt like real people, with strong emotions and clear goals and cutting pain. I was rooting for them as individual people as well as for their love story.

a couple of the twists were obvious, like what happened with the switcheroo in the first task, but in general, I was pleasantly surprised at the turns and how characters reacted to the events.

I loved this so much that i sought out the sequel and bought it to listen asap

A world where the upper-class literally lives above the workers and peasants, where prejudges run deep. The people are divided by an unclimbable wall, both metaphorically and physically. We get to follow a curious boy from the top of the world and a girl down below who dreams of being an inventor. Following them through their teens writing letter to each other is heartwarming. A relationship that feels organic is always my favorite type in books, and this is of course not the only relationship we get in this book. There is plenty of friendship in this story which is really nice. For a niche comment on the characters; they are girls girls and we love that!
Queerness is normalized and sexuality is not taboo anywhere.

Was the worldbuilding its strongest feature? Absolutely not, its fairly rudimentary but it lends itself to the story. This story is about the friends we follow throughout the test and of course our two main characters. It's about their journey getting over norms they are taught and building relationships with each other.
My only issue that still bothers me is the fact that even though gender norms are reversed, the country which has a king was called a kingdom. In our world countries have never been called queendoms even under the rule of queens, not even when the queens have had the "king" title (which has happened a few times). I think the author should have called it a queendom ruled by king.

I would describe this book as a comfortable fantasy read, there is action and danger, but never to the extent where I would be anxious or afraid of putting the book down. It's a calm but exciting read for me and I am looking forward to the next book!