Jacs is from the lower realm, learning to be an inventor. When she begins a pen pal relationship with someone from the upper realm, who is secretly the heir to the kingdom, she begins to learn about the differences between their worlds. Hers is the working class realm, where the work is menial and manual. In the upper realm, the people live lavish lives without a care for where their food comes from or the lives of the people producing it. When the queen is assassinated during a visit to the lower realm, Jacs must venture to the upper realm and participate in a series of contests to become the new queen. She will meet and live with many of her co-contestants, and struggle to fit in while lying to all of her new-found friends.

One of the best parts of this novel is the gender-bending, where there are queendoms and only women are allowed to be part of the queen's guard. There is a quip about public shaming for men who falsely impregnate women by not taking their monthly birth control pills. I also appreciated the numbering of the letters to show the progression of the relationship between Jacs and Connor taking place of many years as they grow up, rather than being a Romeo and Juliet one weekend style romance.

My two biggest issues with the book is that you are regularly brought out of this fantasy world by a reference to something on earth or an idiom we would use in modern times, rather than something that fits the style and medieval style of the world. The other issue I have is that certain aspects of the world are not explained at all how they function, like the bridge between the world, yet there are lengthy explanations of basic fantasy tropes like what a queen's council does. The book being 400 pages seems appropriate for what the novel was trying to cover, but it feels bloated at times because of this imbalance between worldbuilding and tedious explanations of concepts not unique to this world.

Overall, I am intrigued by the premise and world, and the characters are well developed. I am looking forward with where this world goes and any sequels that come from this story!

An amazing discovery and one of the best books I've read so far in 2023.

The Contest of Queens gently takes you around a new fantasy world by growning up next to Jacs and Connor. As you meet them when they're pre-teens, you're able to understand better their reactions and shortcomings. Non of them is perfect but one sure thing is that they are following their hearts and there sense of justice.

I say "gently" because this fantasy story, unlike others, don't try to make its world as violent as possible, or to have the characters go through the worst things possible. Of course, I don't envy some of Jacs or Connor's difficult times, but still, the story start in such a cute way with them getting to know each other without meeting is what convinced me this books was different.

My only negative point is that the ending is quite predictable, but it doesn't take the fun out of the story. On the contrary, I think it let the reader focus even more on the characters like the other contestants for the Queendom who become friends with our protagonist along the way.

To summarize, this universe and these characters are definitely going to be one of my favorite of all times. You MUST read it and share it around ! Thank you so much to CamCat Publishing for making the audiobook available here or I would maybe not have discovered The Contest of Queen. Go read it everyone ! As for me, I'll be waiting impatiently for my order of volume 2 to arrive.

I enjoyed this fairy tale in a divided kingdom and the pen pals to lovers slow burn between Jacs and Connor. It was interesting to read a gender-flipped fairy tale, where girls are raised to be rulers, inventors, and knights while boys are encouraged to "stick to the manual labor they're good at." Half the time I forgot about this flip, and then a small mention or snide comment would pull me back with the thought - "oh yeah, girls have had to deal with that for centuries!"

The contest itself was cool, although it seemed very unrealistic that they would hold all 3 challenges back to back. The first two tasks were very physical and both caused multiple injuries, so its weird that there were no rest days between them.

For me, this book was a fun combination of the Selection, the Hunger Games, and Alana. I definitely want to keep reading now that a Queen has been crowned!

Thank you to Netgalley and CamCat books for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book had great tropes, a nice twist on the patriarchy, and made me feel all of the things. I will definitely be following this author. Thanks for the arc NetGalley.

The contest of queens is a surprisingly captivating read!

Jordan H. Bartlett has a fresh take on a kingdom, or in this case a queendom. In this gender reversal world women rule and hold prominent positions in government.

This role reversal took a little getting used to and I struggled for a few chapters. However the book quickly captured my attention.

With a narrative that bounces between the two main characters point of views you get a in-depth story of overcoming prejudice and learning to see past preconceived notions.

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who loves a fantasy book with a strong heroine and an underdog story. Before I even finished this book, I was already looking forward to reading the next book!

Initially I wasn’t sure about this book but about halfway through I was gripped. It was a great story with some really clever ideas around gender roles and inequalities but within a fantasy setting. The story became so gripping once the contest of queens began, I loved the action and drama between the contestants and the ending has left me waiting for the next book.

At first I struggled to get into the story. I liked it while I was reading but something just wasn’t making it hard to stop reading or even pick it back up to start again. However that quickly changed. I liked that this book showed a world run by women. Not just that it’s run by queen and always will be, but that the knights, guards, inventors, farmers, etc etc were all women. It showed that regardless of the gender, power and money will corrupt anyone. I loved Jacs through the entire story. Connor I loved, then wanted to shake silly, and ended up cheering on all over again. The side characters were just as good. I’m curious what will happen in the next book and if Jacs will tell Connor what she learned.

This book was absolutely incredible. I was left immediately wanting to read the next installment. Karissa Vacker gave such a dynamic performance throughout, and greatly enhanced my listening experience.

Book review 📚
💗genre: fantasy and YA
💗 rating 3.75 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️✨
💗synopsis: There is an upper realm and a lower realm that are separated, on this fantasy world.Jacs befriends someone from the upper realm
And then her life turns upside down. I can’t say anymore or it would spoil the story.
💗thoughts: this was a great book! I liked the story and I really liked the characters. Jacs was a strong female protagonist who really gave her all to her goals and her friendships and I was rooting for her the whole time. Connor was really sweet as well.
The writing was well done. I listened to the audiobook which was an advanced reader copy from netgalley and I can thoroughly recommend if you like YA fantasy with loveable characters to read this one! All thoughts and feelings are my own.

I love that women are in charge in this book. It has an interesting story that is different from similar books I have read. The characters are well written and I am excited to see more in this series.

A fun read that incorporated doing right from wrong and a competition. Well written and flowed quickly. I liked it so much I have already started the second book.

Great audiobook! The narrator, Karissa Vacker, was great and so was the book, so I'm looking forward to the next book! It was creative YA fantasy book with ironic feminism (Queendom instead of Kingdom) that also explores prejudice and social issues in a very tactful way. Can't wait to read more books by this author!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lovely surprise! I requested it on a whim when I saw the audiobook was read now on NetGalley and I absolutely loved it! This is a YA and while the main characters are young, they still had a nice level of maturity - I didn't find myself annoyed at their inner thoughts or their actions, which I feel is becoming rarer these days. Not only that but the plot itself was very fun! I became invested very quickly Jac and Connor's stories and their letters to each other were so cute. Once Jac was in the upper realm, I also really liked how they found each other without knowing fully who the other was. The contest of queens reminded me a bit of The Selection but less heavy on the romance aspect, though that is still present! I really enjoyed the friends Jac made along the way and the tasks were believably challenging, involved some elements of danger and love the magical creatures included! All in all, I really loved this and can't wait to read book two! Teenage me would have definitely been obsessed with it even more!

Content warnings: There is some violence and description of wounds but nothing too graphic, death, imprisonment.

A huge thanks to CamCat books and NetGalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book and can’t wait for the rest of the series! Jacs was an intriguing and well developed character! As well as many of the others. The upper & lower worlds were fascinating and well developed. Excellent novel & can’t wait to read more!

I loved this so much, with rich world building, unique fantasy elements and interesting, unique characters, you can't go wrong. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down. It touches on deeper topics such as classism, with the lower and upper realms and also puts a twist on sexism as only women can be knights (among other things). Whilst also having more light-hearted fun elements and adorable slow-burn romance, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to get together. I can't recommend this enough I will definitely be checking out more of this authors books and any sequels, I think this could be the next big thing.

This was an amazing fantasy read that touches on topics like classism and sexism in a really interesting way. The world-building was incredible and I loved the characters so much. I also really enjoyed the slow-burn romance. I can't wait for the continuation in this series!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

This audio book is so good. I've thoroughly enjoyed it to the point I lose track of time. While listening to this book. The narrator was phenomenal, and the characters were outstandingly well written. I really felt the emotions of the main character and all she dealt with. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this outstanding book. Definitely something I'll highly recommend to anyone that likes this particular genre.

When Jacs first receives a note from a stranger Conner from the upper realm she is delighted to have found a pen pal to share their differences growing up in two different worlds.
As years go on, and the divide between their two worlds becomes ever so more then just geographical. Jacs soon learns to save the people of the lower realm from prejudice and suffering she must venture in disguise to the upper realm to compete to be queen.
What she soon learns is there is more danger in this realm then others and no position of power is safe.

This was a fantastic fantasy novel where themes of prejudice and human rights and brought to the forefront in the world of Jacs and Conner.
There was a fantastic array of characters that helped to develop a story where it wasn’t the character flaws being the centre of the novels focus but instead the flaws of society.

We ended on somewhat of a cliff hanger and I look forward to reading the next instalment.

Jacs, a brilliant farmer's daughter and inventor's apprentice, lives in the shadow of a sharp cliff that divides her land into the noble haves above and working-class have-nots below. She wonders what life might be like above the clouds, until she begins a correspondence with an "upperite". But when the unthinkable happens and the realm is charged with choosing a new queen, Jacs lays it all on the line to save her people.

I found Contest of Queens thoroughly enjoyable - something I've not had the pleasure of feeling during a reading experience for a long time. It is a straightforward fantasy tale with some twists along the way. The worldbuilding is sublime, the characters compelling, and the romantic subplot thrilling. The plot clips along at a great pace - not too slow, not too hurried - with the few flashbacks serving to deepen motivations and narrative arc. Having experienced the audiobook, the voice acting fits and enriches the story.

There are plenty of tropes here. Young people in a competition, the "one" to save her people, etc. However, I adored reading a fully realized matriarchal society - something that I've been seeking out in my fantasy to find out what that would look like. This choice adds a level of interest to the story, complete with some gender-swapped politics that lead this reader, for one, to thought experiments never considered before.

I am rooting for the main character, and I can't wait to read the second installment of this fantasy series!

As soon as I finished this book, I went looking for the sequel. It's pretty rare that I actually do that anymore, since I read so many books, I know that there's always a new world to jump into, but I didn't want to jump out of this one quite so soon! I really do love a good fantasy novel that creates a world that you can understand and believe in within the first chapter or two - to really buy-in to the whole fantastic new world and want to know "who are these characters and why do they even exist, much less warrant your time to read about?"

I appreciate our two main characters in both their inevitable love story/romance as well as their personal desires to seek more out of life than the lot they were assigned at birth, both based on location and status. The novel had a natural flow in story and I appreciated the nuances to this matron-led society and the concept that the only people who could hold the responsibility of taking a life are those that can also give life: women. I think there were times where the prejudice of this line of thinking and the reverse stereotypes made the setting feel real, in that we see sexism one way in our world and they see it a different way, yet eerily similar in their world. There really is no perfect society because humans are going to be all too human and fallible, so we are doomed to fail ourselves somehow in the end.

I enjoyed the narration by Karissa Vacker and that verve for life and bringing those characters off of the page into the world had a certain believable pluck and joie de vivre that certainly helped to sink me into this novel. Thanks for the much needed escapism in a world that wants to pay me 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man (Forbes Pay Gap Statistics 2023).

And thank you CamCat Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks via NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy to review!