Jacs is an inventor’s apprentice from the Lower Realm, but she has a secret: she’s been writing letters to an Upperite boy named Connor ever since she found a letter from him in a little wooden boat sent down the waterfall. Over the years they become strong friends through their letters, but when an assassination occurs during the royals’ visit to Jacs’ town, tensions boil over between the two sections. As her town is put under strict rules and people are jailed for no reason, she realizes that in order to save her people, she must venture to the upper realm and take part in the Contest of Queens. If she can win, she’ll become the next ruler of their kingdom and have a chance at once again bringing peace to her land.

This was an okay YA fantasy read that did some things really well and others not so much. I loved that the author chose to swap the gender norms when it came to traditional fantasy. Queens and queendoms were the norm in this world, as were female guards and female knights. In fact, men weren’t allowed in the guard or as knights – the conversation the author included about why this was the case was fun to read as it was based on typical excuses used for why females aren’t allowed in certain positions, which highlighted the absurdity of that situation quite wittily. The characters were also decently written despite not being very complex, including the secondary characters. I enjoyed how heavily friendships were emphasized in the second half of the book, as well as the fact that the romance took years to develop.

My main complaint about this work is the worldbuilding or lack thereof. It’s disappointing to jump into a fantasy read only to find that there are zero details included about the world or the setting, especially when the work is over 400 pages long. These are two must haves for well-written fantasy as it’s what brings that unique world to life. In this case, the only bit of real worldbuilding we get is an explanation about 15% in as to why the kingdom is divided in half and why tensions exist between the two sections. It honestly made it feel like you could take this story and throw it into any well-established fantasy world and it could exist there.

Overall, this was an okay YA fantasy read that was simple and easy to read. This book ends with some things resolved and many things left open for the sequel. My thanks to NetGalley and CamCat books for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing an audiobook copy of 'Contest of Queens'.

First of all, I really recommend the audiobook version. The narrator did a really good job in regards to modifying how different characters sounded etc. It was very pleasant to listen to!

I was a bit nervous to start with this book, as the YA part of fantasy can be very hit or miss for me. We start the narration with the two main characters being 13 and 14, but the book spans a few years (with the 'current' time being most part of the book). It was a good choice in order to show us how the characters and their relationship grow over time.

The world building wasn't overly complicated, but it was interesting. We have a Queendom and we're shown different 'tiers' of it and relations between those tiers, including lots of prejudices.

I really liked that we followed one of the main character's journey on becoming someone more than the place of birth would normally allow them to be, and the plot, while not being very original, was definitely gripping. Honestly I've enjoyed this book more than I've initially anticipated and it kept me interested till the very end. On the other hand, because it was a lighter read for me, it will probably be pretty forgettable, but I still had lots of fun! I'd recommend it to everyone going through a reading slump.

The main reason for it being 4/5* for me is the ending. While it concludes some points, it still ends up on a major cliffhanger and I personally really dislike that. It was almost as if the book was finished mid-sentence and I was pretty shocked when suddenly I've heard 'Thank you for listening to...' at the end.

Overall, it's a quick fun read, also trying to show some important values and character growth.

To call this book magical is an understatement. 5/5 stars. The characters start young and I was worried the book itself might be for a much younger audience. The age has a purpose and it helps build the characters’ relationship over time. Females dominating in power was refreshing and yet still flawed. It made for an interesting way to discuss sexism, inequality, and discrimination. The competition and story kept me glued to the page and I cannot wait to find out what happens for Jacs next.

Contest of Queens is a fantasy book about leadership and what it takes to rule, about friendship and loyalty, and about perseverance and love. In a Queendom divided between the Upper and Lower real, our main character - Jacs, a citizen of the Lower Realm- will take it upon herself to join the Contest of Queens, hoping to become the voice of her people.

This was an entrataining and heartwarming read: The worldbuilding and setting are quite simple but it is effective for the story that want to tell, the plot and development was lovely and it made me smile all the time, and the main characters were full of charisma an charm. Jacs has some of the qualities I like to see most in YA heroines (ingenuity, pro-active and kindness, to name a few) her character character development was done in a very effective way.

I think it is also worth mention that although it is being marketed as YA, I feel it could also be suitable to an upper middle grade audience since the friendship aspect (normally considered a MG theme) is quite prevalent in it.

If I had any complain it would be that I wish there were other characters that were good contenders for becoming the next queen. Sure there were a couple that were not that bad, but only the main character exhibited the full skill set that the contest was aiming for. Or, alternatively, it would also have been nice if the main character was not the perfect fit and instead had to make up for her shortcoming on other aspects that were not so obvious to everyone. Also, I was not a fan of the reverse sexism comments that some characters were making. I understand the reasons for them, but I still winced everytime they happened.

The narration of the Audiobook was also great. Karissa Vacker, the narrator, did a great job at giving distinct and easily recognizable voices to all major characters, and the cadence of her narration is lovely and very smooth. I loved listening to it and I glad she will also be narrating the sequel.

Overall, Contest of Queens was an enjoyable read with lovely main characters and disney-esque feel to it. I was pleasantly surprised and now I can't wait for the sequel (which comes out next week!).

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing an audiobook copy for a Contest of Queens!

This book was so good. It did remind me of another series called The Selection. This book is different as far as the trail and how things are done in this world. I really enjoyed it and a lot of time I was waiting for the big reveal and I was so happy with how it happened. I can not wait to read the next book as it definitely finishes in a spot where you just want to know what happens next. Such a great book about a land trying to replace a beloved queen and a great story about people and their friendships.

Contest of Queens was a fun, fast-paced, and feminist firecracker.

Both Connor and Jacs were wonderful protagonists who you can’t help but love, and I can’t wait to follow their journey together further. The emphasis and care given to the friendships within this book was magnificent, and I’m so glad the young girls all found a support system with each other.

I really loved the epistolary elements at the start of the book, with Jacs and Connor’s back and forth letters, and how they got to know each other over the span of many years. It made their friendship so much more nuanced and impactful. The way this book flipped many gender-specific customs on its head, with the Queen being the highest monarch in the ‘Queendom’, as well as all militia personnel being female. It offered both thought-provoking social and political commentary, as well as just being a lot of fun.

Karissa Vacker did a great job with the narration, providing an array of voices for such an assorted cast of characters.

I can’t wait to see where Book 2, Queen’s Catacombs, takes us.

Thank you to CamCat Books and NetGalley for providing me with an Audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received the audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. This was the first book I've read by Jordan H Bartlett and she did a fantastic job with world building and making you fall in love with her characters. Her writing is strong, with a beautiful twist in typical literature, this world is run by women. I got caught up in the romance between Jacs and Connor and can't wait until book 2!

Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. I really liked the main character and how she stands in for her beliefs and her friends.

I am so thankful that I read/listened to this book less than two weeks before the sequel comes out. THAT ENDING....

I loved the entire premise of this book - a Queendom where women ruled and standard gender roles were reversed. I loved the small moment when two female knights talked with disdain about the idea of men being guards/knights because they are so quick to anger and aren't built for that sort of work. There were small humorous parts throughout the story that kept things interesting.

I loved Jacs storyline and her growth. It feels like a lot of stories where a normal girl is stepping up to become a leader/hero, they accomplish feats that wouldn't be realistic given their lack of training or preparation. I appreciated the realistic trials and realistic ways Jacs overcame challenges.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of the audiobook and am leaving an honest and voluntary review. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, did a fantastic job. I was fully immersed in the story to the point that I tuned out my surroundings and accidently kept ignoring my husband. I can't wait to start on the Queen's Catacombs when it is released in a few weeks.

4,5

I really loved this, what an amazing surprise.
I don't usually gravitate towards Young Adult Fantasy Romance, but this one was really good even though it followed a typical structure for this genre.
The words used to emphasize that women run this world, sometimes surprised me, because I had never looked at the etymology of certain words before.
It was a very interesting exploration of a matriarchal world with a clear divide between the "upper" and "lower" societies (quite literally).
I am looking forward to the second instalment in this series that will be released later this month.

This is the first book in The Frean Chronicles. Just look at that cover guys! It is gorgeous, I absolutely adore it. Whoever did this art work is absolutely amazing.

Any way lets talk book. Imagine a world where all of your normal stereotypes are reversed. We have women in charge, women in the military, women in all the most important roles because men just don't have what it takes to be warriors or leaders, their emotions are too volatile. SOO basically mirror verse of our world but with Griffins. Like the magical creatures, and they are high ranking and special. No other magic that we know of so far oh besides the crystals that work as spy cameras.

This book reminded me of Red Queen and The Selection, except of course the prince has less power than the future queen will have. I liked both of those books, though I only finished one of those series. So how is this book different? Like I mentioned, gender reversal, we seem to have more acceptance of relationships with whatever gender. However, we have huge class divisions and those from the Lower Realm are not even considered worth while people, you hear them called dogs, made fun of, all that stereotypical stuff when you have never met these people. Insert Jacs who infiltrates the contest of high born women in a contest to see who is worthy to be queen. This contest was made by the son of the murdered former queen. Lots of cloak and daggers and mystery, who killed the queen, who is sabotaging this contest.

We have two POVs though primarily it is that of Jacs, we often will get glimpses of Prince Cornelius, so we know what they know but they don't know what we know. It took me a minute to get into the story, I think once we actually got into the contest I was invested. The whole world building before that was kind of meh, I mean very important, but didn't keep me invested as much as I should have. The narrator did an alright job , male voices seem to be a bit of a struggle in parts, almost sounded a little painful, but not enough to take you out of the story.

I am actually pretty excited about the second book that comes out this year! It has an equally gorgeous cover and that ending just dropped a big ol' bombshell on your head! Overall a great YA book with some twists on what you would come to expect in these genres.

I absolutely loved this book!

The author did a fantastic job with world building. I could picture everything described in the queendom.

This book really touched on so many problems within our own society… especially sexism and classism. With a beautiful twist in typical literature, this world is run by women. Women are the “superior” sex. It touches on the judgments that are placed on others based on their social class, but also how the poor are kept poor by those higher up in society, & how money & place in society is what helps propel you forward & open doors for more opportunities.

Some tropes you’ll find — enemies to friends, friends to lovers

I absolutely cannot wait to see what book 2 in the series brings!

A dystopian/fairy tale mix, this story outlines two worlds separated by prejudice and ignorance. A political and economic system based on griffin gold and class hatred breeched by common sense, bravery and ingenuity.

This is an enjoyable easy listen that holds your attention with several plot twists.

Wow! A fairytale story of heartache, love and ambition for listeners/readers from young to old. The audio version took me through so many different emotions from impressed and interested to worried, to smiles and tears of joy as the characters story unfolded. I hadn’t realised that this was book one of a series until I reached the ‘cliff (edge) hanger’ of an ending. However, this means I will soon be able to spend more time in words and story that spring so nicely from the authors imagination. Thank you to CamCat Books and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Sometimes I forget how great YA stories can be!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I so enjoyed this book!!

I didn’t feel as though the set up to the queens contest was too long. No parts dragged for me. I loved hearing all of the small additions like Grandmother clocks and Queendom. This is a very empowering story for young women, but also shows how a man can be a successful partner for a strong woman! The LGBTQ aspect of the story was seamless. Overall satisfied with my read and disappointed I have to wait for the next book!!

Thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Books for an arc of this audiobook. Below is my honest review. I apologize if misspell any names or locations, I read this via the audio narration.

This book focuses on Jacs and Connor (aka Prince Cornelius). Jacs lives in the lower realm and Connor in the upper realm. Travel between the realms is rare.

Jacs and her mother run a farm. She daydreams about a beanstalk taking her into the sky to walk on the clouds, even if they are all mist. One day, Jacs finds a little boat that is from the upper realm. Jacs is an inventors apprentice and figures out a way to send letters back in a mini hot air balloon. This starts a penpal relationship with Connor.

A few years later …

The queen is assassinated in the lower realms. This leads to increased strife in both realms and the tournament of queens. Jacs wants to enter, but … after the murder of the queen they aren’t taking candidates from the lower realm. They never take candidates from the lower realm.

Hot air balloon time!

Connor will either marry or advise the next queen who wins the contest of queens.

Who will be chosen to compete? Who will be queen? Will Jacs and Connor realize they’ve been friends for years? Will they find love? Will they prove lowrians were behind the assasinations? Or will they be surprised?

To be honest, I was expecting a cross between The Hunger Games and The Selection. Although it kind of was, it also held its own.

Jacs was incredibly intelligent, clever, thoughtful, and compassionate. Connor was kind and, even though — except for Jacs —ignorant of the lower realms, he clearly wanted to be a good prince and/or king. His decision on who competed in the contest showed his true colors. And I loved how he designed the contests.

The secondary characters were well developed. Jacs’s mentor was lovely. Lina was kind, compassionate, but also clearly naive towards the way of the world and the lower realms. She was a good example of the people of the upper realms.

Honestly, I’m exhausted of entitled royalty, and several of the dames fit that bill. Was it needed? Yes. However, it still exhausts me.

If you are a fan of YA books with star crossed love, contestants trying to become royalty, and clever characters, then I highly recommend it.

Last but not least, Karissa Vacker is an amazing narrator and hit it out of the park again!

Thank you CamCat Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this wonderful book. I really enjoyed the great characters, captivating plot, wonderful world-building, and engaging storyline. The writing reminded me a bit of Tamora Pierce’s stories, which I absolutely adore. Looking forward to the next volume in the series. 4.5⭐️